


Sinking Between Heaven and Disaster

by Style



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (that's what he wants everyone to think), Alpha Harry, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - College/University, Architects, Beta Louis, Bottom Louis, But it's NOT WHAT YOU THINK!!!, Check pairings for a warning as well, Dom Harry, Louis-centric, M/M, Omega Louis, Pining, Rich Harry, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Sub Louis, Top Harry, a/b/o stereotypes/stereotyping, louis is hard to get, more warnings in the notes, there is lounielle im so sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-05-04 17:49:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5342963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Style/pseuds/Style
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis hates being an omega so much that he identifies himself as a beta.</p><p>Harry's the new alpha who isn't convinced.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a self-indulgent fic on hard-to-get omega Louis. Yay.
> 
> I'll add more tags as it goes on. Title is inspired by JB and Halsey's The Feeling, which _slightly_ relates to some aspects of this fic.
> 
> I'm not a fan of waiting, so I'll probably post a chapter each time right after typing it up!

Louis is not like most omegas.

He’s tiny at 5'3 in height. He’s got dainty wrists and ankles, and soft, beautiful curves. He’s so pretty, _too pretty_ in a way that always gets people looking.

But he’s not like most omegas, no.

Because most omegas resign to their fate. They wholeheartedly accept the fact that they’re practically cursed into society as some alpha or beta’s baby-making, house-cleaning machine. But _no_ , that’s not what Louis is. Everyday he douses himself in scent-neutralizing spray, takes his heat-suppressing pills and harmlessly flirts with omegas like he isn’t one himself. He’s a male _beta_ , he insists to others who question his true gender. Of course a few people don't completely believe him, but they don't matter and often mind their own businesses most of the time. They can't smell him anyway and that's how betas are supposed to naturally smell like: like nothing. 

People might argue with Louis and his massive hate for the omega lifestyle. Omegas are loved and cherished by everyone, most especially their mates. They’re respected just like any other class, and just because they go into heat and male omegas can get pregnant unlike male betas or alphas doesn’t mean that they’re treated poorly like sex dolls or slaves. Louis would beg to differ, though.

When he was only five years old he had heard his biological father shout such mean things to Louis’ omega of a mother that the words had left a permanent impact on Louis’ way of thinking.

_Omegas are supposed to obey their alpha’s every whim._

_Omegas are nothing but for the pleasure of their mate._

_Omegas are worthless save for their wombs._

_You're nothing but a toy. A slave to our desires. A slave to your own desires._

_Worthless._

 

Louis had only been a scared, innocent child at that time and as he grew older his fear of becoming an omega became deeper as well. When Louis presented as an omega at thirteen years old, experiencing his first heat in the middle of class, he had pushed all his worried classmates away and ran all the way home. Since then he has been taking suppressants for his heats, and has been using  neutralizing sprays for his scent.

Whether Louis is a beta or an omega, a lot of people genuinely like him. Despite his extreme hatred for his own being (the omega part of his being) he’s nice, funny and sweet to just about anyone as long as they don't try to put their greasy hands on him. Under the impression that he is a beta, alphas, omegas and betas never stand a chance with him no matter how much they hit on him. He isn’t asexual or aromantic, really, but he can’t ever find someone he genuinely likes. He won’t date alphas, he finds most betas absolutely boring, and as sweet and lovely other omegas are, he loses interest in them quickly. 

Louis is now twenty and is studying Architecture in university. That’s another thing about him: _Architecture_.

There are hardly any omegas in Louis’ classes and out of the hundreds of Architecture students that he knows there are only a handful omegas: _five_ , including himself. So basically there are two mated omegas, two unmated oned and Louis who nobody knows as one.

Lately his mother has been pressuring him to just go and try to leave the neutralizer at home, to test the waters. _“You never know if that sweet scent of yours will attract the sweetest alpha you could ever meet, Lou,”_ she would tell him. Her current husband is great: he treats all of them nicely, and he loves Louis’ mother to the extent that he had cried during their wedding day and had given her two beautiful twins that the family adores. Louis likes him and calls him dad, but he also can't forget his real father and the names he had called omegas.

Louis doesn’t listen to his mother and always keeps his scent-neutralizing spray with him wherever he would go.

* * *

 

It’s one day, only one week into the term when there’s a new student sliding into the empty seat next to him where his friend Zayn is _supposed_ to be sitting in.

“That’s not your seat,” Louis immediately tells the newcomer without even sparing the other a glance as he’s busy drawing misshapen doodles on his own forearm.

The professor is nowhere to be found at it’s so typical of Professor Samuels to be absent on a Monday morning. Typical for Zayn to be absent as well (then again, when did Zayn ever show up in his early morning classes?)

“Sorry,” the surprisingly deep and slow voice of the boy next to him drawls and Louis could hear the sheepishness in his tone. “I’m new.”

Louis lifts his head up, turns to the new person seated next to him and then freezes. _Who is this person,_ he screams in his mind. _And why are they drop-dead gorgeous?_

Green eyes. Pink lips. Luxe brown curls that fall over the shoulders. Pale skin.

Louis’ eyes drift down to the man’s chest for a second. The first three buttons of his ridiculous _silk_ blouse are unbuttoned, showcasing smooth skin and a hint of black ink. He raises a brow as he crinkles his nose. Never mind if this person is handsome— Louis can tell that he’s alpha just by his scent and the built of his tall, lean body (and the big biceps outlined by his sleeves).

He’s not interested.

“You are?” Louis asks anyway.

His grip on his pen gets tighter when he sees the other look at the array of tattoos and doodles scattered on his arm with the sleeve pulled up.

“M’Harry.” Pink lips stretch into a smile and Louis actually finds himself smiling back. “Harry Styles. I, uh. Moved from Cheshire to London a few weeks back and had to retake this class because they wouldn’t credit the class I took in my old uni… this is Contemporary Architecture right?”

Louis nods. “Contemporary Architecture.”

Honestly, it’s an interesting class save for the fact that their teacher is always either late or absent, and that it’s held at eight in the bloody morning on Mondays and Fridays.

Harry stares at him for a few seconds before his eyebrow cocks up and Louis realizes that he’s waiting for a name. “I’m Louis,” he supplies shortly and goes back to where he’s drawing a triangular leaning tower covered in red spots. At the bottom of the drawing are the words “The Leaning Tower of Pizza”.

“Nice tattoos.” Harry grins. It’s a very boyish grin, Louis notes. He eyes Harry’s arms but the skin is covered by the sleeves of his top, so Louis can’t see if he’s got tattoos scattered all over his skin as well. He's got big hands, though. “Thanks.” Louis mumbles and recaps his pen.

He can’t concentrate on making masterpieces on his skin if this good-looking  _alpha_  Harry is observing his every move. “Did you need anything?”

Harry’s smile falters for only a second. “Um. I’m new.”

The poor thing is only trying to make conversation with Louis, but Louis doesn’t like being friends with alphas. Especially unmated ones like Harry who may seem genuinely nice in their conquest to find the perfect omega but may actually be just like Louis’ pathetic, horrible excuse for a father.

Louis looks at the clock hanging above the whiteboard, sees that it’s already been thirty minutes since class was supposed to begin, and grabs his bag. “I know. You just told me that,” he tells Harry with a light laugh.  He stands up and quickly exits the room.

Harry watches Louis' back as the omega walks away and he smiles to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis gets to know a bit about Harry and his preferences.

It’s not long before Louis sees Harry again.

Actually, it’s only been a few hours and Louis is enjoying an overpriced cup of iced macchiato from Starbucks while Zayn dozes on the seat opposite of his when Harry walks into the establishment. He’s with a guy who’s presumably a friend: blond hair, blue eyes… definitely a beta with the way he carries himself in an almost carefree manner.

Louis pretends he doesn’t see Harry, choosing instead to catch up on some 9GAG on his phone. It works for approximately twenty minutes before the table which is _too close_ to theirs becomes occupied by none other than Harry and his blond friend.

“Hi, Louis,” comes Harry’s voice again and _god_ , it’s Too Alpha with how it’s velvety and deep. Louis glares at his knees for almost weakening.

Louis turns his head just as Zayn lifts his head from the table and opens his eyes to look at whoever spoke. “Hi, Harry.” he says politely and even offers Harry’s friend a short smile before he goes back to scrolling through his favorite comedy website.

Zayn grins sleepily at the two strangers. Zayn is a beta like Blond Friend, and he’s one of the few people who know that Louis is actually an omega. With Louis’ scent neutralized it’s just Harry’s strong, muscular alpha undertones that they are able to pick up.

He thinks that they're done talking but apparently Harry has other plans. “This is my friend Niall,” he introduces Blond Friend, who is sipping on a sugary venti frappuccino, with a grin toward both Louis and Zayn. Being ever the polite one, Zayn smiles again and reaches out to shake both of their hands from where he’s lazily seated. “Zayn.” He introduces himself.

“Harry.”

“How’d you know Louis, mate?” 

And it’s like Louis isn’t even there. He huffs and answers for the sole alpha. “He’s in the morning class that you missed because you were still sleeping in your bed.” He tells Zayn.

“Moved from Cheshire.” Harry supplies helpfully, scooting back in his seat slightly. Louis tries not to stare at the way Harry’s fingers completely wrap around the large mug of his warm drink.

 “Great. In Architecture, the both of you?” Zayn asks before he’s snatching Louis’ drink to take one sip. Louis frowns and wipes the straw with a tissue.

“Nah. I’m majoring in Engineering, me,” Niall says cheerfully.

“Would have never guessed,” Louis says. It’s supposed to be a joke but it comes out flat and it makes Zayn frown slightly. Niall and Harry only laugh though, as if it’s something they hear often. Louis doesn’t understand why they’re chatting like they’re old friends or something because he’s only spoken like five sentences to Harry.

Before Louis can say anything else, Zayn’s sighs admiringly. “Oh, sick mate, you’re bonded?” he asks, eyeing the healed initials cut onto the skin of Niall’s pale neck. Louis looks at the mark with distaste.

Contrary to what younger people think, bond marks aren’t tattooed on by some magical force. You don’t get them automatically when you get a mate that you want to live happily ever after with. It isn't like in the fairytales where you would kiss and ‘make love’, and then marks to show your bond would automatically form on your necks. No. You have to _physically_ mate with them first, sign a few documents and then get each others’ initials imprinted on your necks by a medical doctor, using a _laser_.

They say you feel completely different after having bonded someone you genuinely love but Louis can’t say that he cares. He’s not planning on letting anyone bond him anyway. No beta, and especially no alphas.

He’d rather mate with an omega but omega-to-omega relationships were practically unheard of. It was either an alpha and an omega, an alpha and a beta (usually if they didn’t want kids of their own), a beta and a beta (again, if they didn’t mind the absence of kids) or a beta and an omega together.

It just doesn’t work that way, they say. An omega will want someone who will take care of them and give them their own babies. Louis calls bullshit— sure babies are cute, but he’d rather eat dirt than get pregnant. Over and over again. Just like how omegas are supposed to like it.

Louis doesn’t really care about Niall or his omega mate called Babs but he pretends he’s interested anyway and nods along as he browses his phone where it’s concealed right under the table. There’s still a good two hours before their next class and Louis regrets thinking that he could find some peace and quiet in this cafe because Zayn gets along so well with Harry and Niall that they _won’t. Stop. Talking._

Here is what he’s gotten so far: Harry is from Cheshire, Niall is from Mullingar, Ireland and they’re flat mates. They live in an apartment that isn’t too far from Louis’ and Zayn’s, which means it isn’t very far from the school either. They both have this passion for music but they’re even more passionate about their degrees.

It’s not like he has a problem with Niall since he’s bonded anyway— it’s Harry he’s wary about. It’s Harry and the way his emerald eyes would focus on Louis even when he knows that the omega is aware of his fleeting stares. Harry isn’t being very discreet.

Louis slumps back in his chair, feigning disinterest when Zayn asks Harry if he’s mated and bonded. Obviously he’s not with the way he smells, but the spot where his bond mark is supposed to be is concealed by his shoulder-length hair and Harry tucks his hair behind his ears and shows them that his bonding spot is smooth and void of any initials.

“I’m actually looking for the right one though,” Harry says with that ever so slow voice of his, his gaze practically burning into Louis as he talks. Louis slumps down further in his seat and picks at a loose thread on the jumper that he’s wearing. Niall snorts at Harry’s words but Zayn listens earnestly. Trust Zayn to be a hopeless romantic. Louis takes a quick glance at the alpha and the corner of Harry’s lips quirk up. “I’ve got a good feeling about London.”

Louis laughs humorlessly at that. His cheeks burn bright red. He wants to do something to get Harry’s eyes off of him— maybe splash him with the remaining of his coffee or something— anything to get him to _stop fucking staring_. “Yeah, good luck with that, mate. Not a lot of omegas in our department.”

Of course he could tell that Harry is a social butterfly, it's obvious with how friendly he is and how he carries himself. Louis just needed to say something.

But _of course_ Harry only smiles wider. Plush pink lips stretch to show perfect, pearly white teeth. “M’not that picky. Omegas… Betas are fine too.” he says. And then he fucking _winks_  at Louis.

He smiles and winks in a way that isn’t overly-confident or oozing with cockiness. It’s the right mix of cheeky and flirtatious that Louis can do nothing but blush harder and look away.

Zayn’s laugh earns him a kick to the shin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think by commenting down below, please. x


	3. Chapter 3

Louis sees Harry almost every single day of the week.

 

He doesn’t _want_ to, not really, but it’s so difficult when he shares the same major as the alpha and all of the Architecture classes are held in one building. Zayn also seems to have taken a liking to Harry and his Irish friend, so there’s that. Of course where Zayn goes, Louis follows, and it’s not long before he finds themselves in Harry and Niall’s shared flat.

 

The flat is a two-storey modern building situated between other apartments that seem to share a similar theme: dark and modern.  It’s a street away from his own tiny, two-bedroom flat. The outer walls are black slabs of brick, the windows are shiny and tinted, complete with small yellow windowsill flowers; the concrete steps lead to a large, white door that displays the number _28_ in gold on the center. There’s also a white mail box just by the doorstep. If it looks rather cool on the outside, it’s completely _beautiful_ on the inside. 

 

Louis holds back a whistle as he steps into the apartment. Harry and Niall must come from wealthy families, because there’s only a handful of students that Louis knew who live so luxuriously. This living space was completely different from Louis and Zayn’s one-storey flat which had scattered papers, trash and clothes all over the place. Harry and Niall’s flat is composed of sleek and modern monochrome-themed furniture. The place is spotless, and faintly smells of this expensive air that Louis can’t quite figure out. The lights are dim and yellowed to give a mellow vibe, and he thinks that the only thing missing is a bar. There’s jazz music playing in the background for hell's sake. 

 

He must have spoken too soon, because as soon as he jokes about it, he walks into the living room and finds an actual _Bar_ that connects to what he presumes is the kitchen. He can’t help but whistle at the glimmering wine and shot glasses hanging upside-down above the counter. 

 

Louis knew that Harry had money. He just didn’t realize he was being acquainted with a fucking _heir_ or something until now. He feels rather small as he sits down on one of the plush leather seats, in front of Zayn who looks like he’s been here a thousand times before already. The beta’s lounging on a loveseat as he goes through Harry’s vinyl collection. (Louis internally cringes because, really? Vinyls? Could Harry be any more hipster-ish?) Niall’s behind the counter making drinks for the four of them, while Harry’s in the kitchen. Apparently the guy cooks _and_ bakes too. Louis isn’t all that impressed.

 

He’s not.

 

Harry comes out thirty minutes later with a plate of these fancy little finger rolls. He doesn’t ask what it is, but it tastes like heaven and he tries not to fondly smile at Harry’s satisfied grin when he tells the alpha so. 

 

Harry sits down way too close to him for his liking— their knees are brushing together and if Louis looked up he’s sure he’d be able to clearly see the flecks of blue in Harry’s green eyes. 

 

Harry opens his mouth to say something, but Niall beats him to it.

 

“So, Louis.”

 

Louis looks up from his drink, sinking back into the leather as he eyes Niall who’s sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor.

“Yeah, mate?”

 

“Zayn tells me you’ve never had a girlfriend.”

 

Zayn tries not to smile as he tips his head back for a drink, and Louis cocks his brow at the two. He wants to scoff so badly. He’s never actually shown any true interest in girls. “No, never had one.” He says, straight and to the point. He doesn’t bother explaining himself. There’s really no need to. He hasn’t had a girlfriend before, and he probably will never. He thinks girl alphas are downright _frightening_ , girl betas are okay but _stilllll,_ and omegas just don’t blend together well as romantic partners. 

 

“Boyfriend?” Niall proceeds to ask, a look of genuine curiosity on his face. His sparkling blue eyes flit over to Harry for a second before they settle back onto Louis.

 

Louis is not daft at all, is the thing. He figures that Niall’s actually asking for Harry. He can feel the alpha’s stare on him, waiting for an answer. Louis can fucking _smell_ the interest Harry has for him. 

 

Stupidly, his body betrays him and his face starts to color a bright red. “Um, no, not really,” he says slowly, feeling as if he’s been put in the spotlight. “M’not interested in anyone at the moment.”

“Or at all.” Zayn supplies helpfully. “Lou’s never been in a relationship before.”

 

Louis glares at Zayn. “Well _excuse_ me for waiting for _The One._ ”  It’s not true. Louis isn’t waiting for anybody. He’ll die happily old and alone one day, perhaps with two cats and a dog. He’s not going to be tied down into submission, no he’s not.

Warm fingertips brush against his arm, and he turns to see Harry fixing him with a soft look. “It’s okay, Louis. I’m waiting, too.” 

 

‘ _Waiting for The One?_ ’ Louis wants to ask. ‘ _Or waiting for_ me _?_ ’

 

It’s been approximately two weeks since they’ve met, and anybody can see how interested the alpha is in the beta. He brings Louis tea during their morning lectures, walks with him to class whenever he can, and on some occasions Louis turns his head to find Harry fixing him with this… this _look_. Dark eyes that have him squirming in his seat. And then Harry will fucking _smile_ at him and Louis will try not to blush a thousand shades of red and pink. He always fails though, and proceeds to turn red like a firetruck anyway.

 

But Louis won’t give in, no. Harry could wait however long he damn pleases to, but Louis swears he’ll never get into a relationship with an alpha. Not now, and not ever. Not even when Harry Fucking Styles has waltzed into his life with his fucking dimples, and his fucking six-foot-something height, and his fucking tan & tattooed skin, and his fucking _delicious_ alpha smell. 

 

_No._

 

He gives Harry a slow nod, unsure of what to tell the other.

 

Harry’s smile is blinding, and he seems to lean even closer that Louis is practically _drowning_ in his scent. 

 

Louis tips his head back and downs the rest of his drink. 

 

He’s entirely too sober for this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got to be completely honest with you guys, I have forgotten about this story. I've been through so much (your girl graduated university as Cum Laude, baby! x) the past few months. But I'm back, and will be updating this as frequently as I can now.
> 
> Promise. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I feel like it's still in their introductory phase, but we'll get past that quickly as... you know. Harry obviously likes Louis already lol. Also, I didn't re-read this to edit, so you'll find a lot of mistakes. It's been months since I've last written something, so if it's shit... I'm sorry.
> 
> Comment down below and let me know what you think, please!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's scent does something to Louis. Why that is so, Louis isn't sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Louis.
> 
> Hi guys! I'm planning on making the chapters longer next time around, but I'm traveling to Manila today so this one is short. ): 
> 
> Are you guys ready for some Harry action!!!!!! Next chapter!!!! x

It’s on a random day when Louis realizes that he’s basically fraternizing with the _enemy_. 

 

He’s eating his favorite pizza while surfing Netflix in the living room  of Zayn and his’ shared flat when Zayn tells him that Harry and Niall are coming over soon with dinner. He absentmindedly hums an okay before he freezes and then turns to Zayn with squinted eyes.

 

“Why are they coming over?” he asks.

 

“Well. Harry said he accidentally cooked for too many people, and asked if we wanted some food. I figured since we have a pretty chill night, I could invite them over and we could hang. So. I did.” Zayn explains with a shrug, unsure why Louis is glaring at him.

 

“But Harry is an _alpha,_ ” Louis argues as if that one sentence explains everything. At Zayn’s raised brows he groans and puts his pizza slice down. “I hate alphas. You know what he’s trying to do? I bet you that he cooked a lot on _purpose_ so he could come here. And. And.” _And take care of me._

 

Zayn still looks puzzled as he rounds the sofa and settles down next to Louis, taking a pizza slice for himself. “You’ve never had a real problem with being around him before.” He states. Usually, when the four of them would hang, Louis _would_ get an attitude around Harry, but he never actually complains to Zayn about hanging with the duo. Harry specifically.

 

“I’ve let my guard down around him, Z,” Louis realizes with an exasperated sigh. His small hands come up to grab at his feathery brown hair out of frustration. “I’ve gone _soft_ around him! I let him get away with shit — like, like _winking_ at me like he has the right to — and I didn’t even realize it!”

 

The corners of the black-haired beta’s lips turn upwards in amusement. “He does seem to like you.” _A lot_ , is what Zayn doesn’t add. 

 

It certainly isn’t Louis’ fault that Harry is actually pleasant to be around with.  The alpha is kind of funny. He’s beyond charming. _He’s absolutely lovely…_

 

Louis decides right then and there that he hates Harry for he has gone soft and has forgotten about his life principles regarding alphas just because of this long-legged charmer and his stupid twinkling green eyes.

 

“We have to cancel,” Louis tells Zayn in a rush.

 

“What?”

 

“Tell them they can’t come over — we have enough pizza and I think I’m falling sick,” the omega coughs into his fist.

 

Zayn looks at him strangely. “You’re not falling sick—“

 

“Just tell Niall and his curly friend not to come here anymore!” Louis grumbles, his eyebrows furrowed.

 

Before Zayn could try and respond only to be cut off by Louis again, the doorbell rings.

 

“Open up! We’ve got _dinner!_ ” A muffled, jolly voice that could only belong to  the Irishman Niall Horan faintly echoes around the living room. Zayn immediately scurries to the front door.

 

Louis sighs in defeat before turning the television off. He takes the box of pizza that’s still half full and begins the short journey to his room when somebody calls out to him.

 

“Lou?” 

 

The scent of an alpha hits him before he even sees who it belongs to. He slowly turns and _of course_ it’s Harry, looking at him so eagerly as if he was expecting a hug or any other welcome greeting from Louis. Harry looks good in his flimsy white The Rolling Stones shirt and stupid ripped skinny jeans. Louis loathes him. 

 

“Yeah, hi.” Louis mumbles. He doesn’t berate Harry against the new nickname that Harry has suddenly given him, but he doesn’t like it either. At least, he’s trying to convince himself that he doesn’t like it. _‘As if we were close, honestly,’_ Louis inwardly grumbles. 

 

“Where are you going?” Harry asks as he toes off his suede boots, leaving them by the door. He’s holding a large container carefully in both of his large hands, and a fragrant smell overpowered by the strong, distinct scent of an alpha slowly begins to waft through the room. It smells much, much better than his pepperoni and cheese pizza— the food or _Harry,_ he isn’t sure. Niall is already bounding into the small kitchen with Zayn, talking about how starved he is and how Harry makes _the best_ stir-fry fajitas. 

 

“I’m sick,” Louis lies, automatically pressing the back of his hand against his neck as if he were checking his own temperature. He slouches and adds a small cough for good measure. “I don’t think I should join you guys tonight. Might be contagious.” He coughs again, this time covering it with his palm. 

 

Harry frowns at him, but nods, and Louis tries not to exhale out of relief when he gets off the hook with no questions asked. 

 

“We’ll save you some food.” The alpha says earnestly, his gaze kind and slightly worried. Louis almost feels guilty for lying to him. “Get well, Lou.”

 

“Yeah. Thanks.” Louis says before walking into his room and shutting the door behind him. He might actually get sick, he thinks, because of Harry’s amazing alpha scent. It’s _intoxicating_ , is the thing, and he doesn’t know why he’s _so_ affected by it all of a sudden. He doesn’t know if he’s the only one _this_ affected by it. The smell just keeps getting stronger as the days go by, he thinks, and it’s bad for him. It’s especially bad because his suppressants are supposed to lessen his attraction to alpha scents, so why had he gone all weak in the knees the moment Harry walked into the room?

 

He grabs the bottles of suppressants on his beside table and reads the label: _effectively suppresses omega heats, lightly veils omega pheromones (note: it is still highly suggested to take scent-neutralizing sprays), strongly subdues the appeal of alpha pheromones towards omegas._

 

Louis has been taking these suppressants ever since he went to college, and he’s always found them highly effective. The bottom of the bottle says they won’t expire until next year so he doesn’t fucking understand why he felt stupidly _pulled_ towards Harry and his scent. God, it’s a miracle that he isn’t wet and leaking right now. The suppressants doesn’t make him _not_ smell alphas (or omegas), it’s just supposed to prevent him from opening his legs to any alpha whose scent smelled good to him. He’s always found Harry’s nice, but not as nice as how he smells tonight. Not to the point like where he felt dizzy back in the living room, though. 

 

“I’m fucked, I’m fucked,” Louis mumbles. Either he’s got a bad batch of suppressants, or Harry Styles is simply _something else_. Now he truly knows that he should keep his distance.

 

He heads to bed and makes a point to set a reminder on his phone about getting new, _stronger_ suppressants tomorrow because he knows that Harry isn’t someone that he can shake out of his life so easily. Zayn’s grown too attached to the boy and he’s becoming a part of Louis’ daily life as well. He doesn’t want to make Zayn stop hanging out with the alpha — and he won’t. Even if Louis tries his best to avoid Harry, he knows that they’ll bump into each other a lot, what with Zayn loving Harry and Niall, and Harry having a couple of classes with Louis.

 

At least now he’s in his room and away from the jade-eyed alpha. He’ll just have to ignore Harry as much as he possibly can, the alpha’s scent included. He’ll think of a better plan another time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis snaps at Harry and gets new prescription drugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm angry at myself. I promised that the chapters will be longer, but I felt like this was the perfect length already. /: I'm so sorry. I'm working on it. Also, sorry, Harry action will definitely be in the next one. De fi ni te lyy. 
> 
> I'm in Manila now, Makati specifically, and I have a lovely flat that has and overlooks four large pools that turns different colors of the rainbow during the night. It all reminds me of Larry. ❤️ But anyway, I tried my best to write this out after seeing the rainbow pool. Hah. Love it. Thank you so much for reading this.
> 
> Written on my phone, so sorry for any mistakes.

The next day, Louis wakes up unusually early for a Saturday. It's only seven AM when he rolls out of bed and slinks out of his room, but he's automatically met with a strong, sort of musky scent that's deliciously intoxicating and that has him stumbling back into the confines of his bedroom. He slams the door behind him and springs into his bed that smells of lavender fabric softener, taking a big inhale. Harry and Niall must have stayed over for the night. They must be sleeping in the living room.

He definitely can't go out like this - in his jammies, and his neutralizing spray from yesterday having worn off completely. The flat only has one bathroom and it's outside of his bedroom, and he can't go in without potentially being noticed by the (hopefully sleeping) alpha. He takes his suppressants, the ones that he'll be replacing with something stronger today, and douses himself in the neutralizing spray before exiting his room yet again. He brings the spray with him, heavy in his trackies' pocket.

When he strides over to the bathroom, his quick check on the living room confirms his assumption - Harry and Niall have stayed the night. Niall's currently on the couch, snoring lightly, while Harry's on an inflatable mattress on the floor, sleeping soundly. The tall alpha sleeps on his back with his arms crossed over his chest, and Louis' breath kind of hitches with how... cute the sight looks. It's as if Harry's used to sleeping while hugging something (or someone?) and _fuck_ , why the fuck is he staring. Louis shakes his head at himself and hastes to the bathroom. Harry's strong scent must be getting into his head.

He takes care of business and washes his body and his face, before toweling off and dousing himself in the neutralizing spray again. He steps out of the bathroom feeling more relaxed even if his clothes are a little wet.

"Good morning, Louis." Louis startles, immediately pocketing the spray bottle in his hands. It's Harry, stirring awake from his sleep, and he looks lovely and soft like this: his curly hair is rumpled, and his eyes are still half-closed as he sits up. Then Louis sees the strong lines of his shoulders and his muscles flex as he stretches. Harry is a tragically beautiful alpha and Louis hates him to the core.

"Yeah, morning," Louis says in a hurry, but before he can make his quick escape back to his room so he could change, Harry speaks up again.

"Are you feeling better? We saved you some leftovers, it's in the fridge, but if you'd like I can make you breakfast." Harry says in that naturally low drawl of his, his voice raspier from sleep. Louis is quick to deny his offer. If he spends another minute around Harry he might actually start leaking. He smells so fucking good, and Louis doesn't understand why he's been helplessly drawn to the scent since yesterday. It didn't affect him like this before. The increasing need to drop to his knees and submit to all of Harry's whims like a pitiful omega is frightening Louis. All because of how strong and good Harry suddenly smells to him.

"Mhm. No thanks, have to run somewhere. See you," Louis waves, rushing into his room. He pulls off his current clothes and exchanges them for new ones. He slides on a pair of clean boxers, then jeans, before he's putting on a loose white shirt and slipping into his black Vans. He slides on his favorite denim jacket and beanie after that. He's quickly running out of his scent-neutralizing spray, but he has to take extra precautions with Harry around. He sprays it on himself yet again, perhaps too much, before he exits the room and brisk-walks to the front door.

"Will you be back soon?" Louis whips his head to see Harry standing up, regarding Louis with a small, hopeful grin. The same boyish grin he had given Louis the first time they met. He smells absolutely scrumptious. "I promised Zayn I'd cook lunch."

' _I'd rather have you for lunch_ ', the distinct, purely omega part of Louis' brain horrifically thinks. He did NOT give his brain permission to think such things, what's happening to him?!

"What are you, an omega?" Louis snaps with a scoff. He doesn't mean to sound rude, but he doesn't get why Harry is too nice for his own good. Okay, maybe he gets it a little. Ever since they've met Harry has been nothing but cheeky, confident and overwhelmingly nice to Louis and it's most probably because Harry's been expressing interest in him, a supposed _beta_. It isn't what Louis' wants at the moment at all. The last thing he needs is a wonderful, charming gentleman of an alpha to come knocking down his carefully constructed walls- walls that Louis has never planned on lowering. The alpha should just mind his own business and stop pretending to be some sort of housewife to Louis and Zayn.

Louis feels guilty when the grin drops from Harry's face, the light in his jade eyes dimming, but Louis' not one to apologize, especially when Harry's the reason he's fussing anyway.

"I probably won't be back until later, tell Zayn not to wait up for me." And with that, he leaves the flat.

-

"I'm what?!" Louis asks incredulously.

The doctor sighs. "Mister Tomlinson. The reason why this alpha's scent affects you so much is because the omega part of you is attracted to him," she explains slowly, eyeing the boy who looks like he's going to go into cardiac arrest. "You, as a whole, might not want to like this person, but the pure omega inside of you recognizes a good alpha, a good match, when it senses one."

"So like. This omega part of me is so attracted to H- to this person- that it's making me immune to the suppressants' effects regarding how the alpha smells to me?"

"Yes." The doctor nods. She's plucks the orange bottle of Louis' suppressants on the table and reads it. "Here: these suppressants are supposed to subdue the appeal of an alpha's pheromones for you. But there's only so much that it could do. Your inner omega must be becoming very attracted to this alpha for you to be so affected by his scent now."

Louis groans and buries his hands into his palms. He doesn't like Harry! He doesn't! Harry's just extremely handsome, charming and nice. And he cooks.

"I don't want to like him, though. What do I do? My suppressants are turning faulty because of him, then?" He asks sullenly. "And does... can he smell me, too?"

The doctor regards him with a kind smile. "No, he can't. Thanks to your neutralizing spray, I'm sure he hasn't sensed a thing. To me, you smell like how a beta should - nothing. Now, you have two options Mister Tomlinson. Option A: I'll prescribe you a stronger batch of suppressants specifically for this kind of case of yours. You won't be attracted to your alpha friend's scent anymore. But! You'll have to be careful with these as they may have side-effects. Nausea, sickness, heart palpitations, vertigo to name a few. I also have to warn that it may damage your reproductive system if you plan on having children in the future. You have to be very careful with this suppressant, as it's not a hundred percent effective on controlling heats, as well. Fifteen percent of the people who take it still go into heat from time to time, but then you won't have to worry about your alpha friend's scent being pleasingly unbearable."

Louis worries his bottom lip in between his lip as he takes in the first option. He hasn't gone into heat since forever, and he really doesn't want to experience it again. But he knows that avoiding Harry will be difficult, like earlier today, and he hates being dizzy and almost in-lust by the amazing scent the alpha has. But... He's never dreamed of having children but the thought that he might harm himself on a high degree, to the point where his organs become damaged, scares him more than the thought of going into heat again.

"Option B: you stop taking suppressants altogether, and I'll prescribe you with a drug that's specifically for subduing an omega's attraction to an alpha's pheromones." The doctor says. "This drug is highly effective, but it cannot be taken with suppressants unfortunately. It's much safer as well. So... Which option would you like to take?"

Louis sits there for a few moments as he weighs his two choices. The first one scares him so much with the lot of side-effects that it comes with. On the other hand, the second option means that he'll have to endure going into heats again. At least he still has his neutralizing spray, and he won't have to worry about presenting his arse and being a good omega for Harry, or something ridiculous like that, if ever the alpha's scent becomes too attractive for his omega side.

"I'll take option B." Louis decides with a shaky breath. "No more heat suppressants."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis snaps yet again. He's sorry for it, though. He's sorry for other things as well, like replying to Harry's texts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for 69 bookmarks. God knows how much I love that number. My favorite.

Louis spends an entire boring hour at the mall before deciding to go back home. It's nearing 1 in the afternoon now, and surely Harry and Niall weren't in his flat anymore. Of course, he's proven wrong the moment he steps inside of the flat and he can hear loud chatter from the kitchen. And that _scent_ , too. Amidst the delicious aroma of whatever's for lunch is the smell of Harry. Fuck.

Louis' not supposed to take his newly prescribed drug until tomorrow when his suppressants wear off, so the scent of the alpha hits him like a truck. He mumbles a 'fuck it' and heads straight to his room, a bag of takeout in one hand and his medicine in the other. He slams the door shut behind him and plops down on the bed with a sigh, taking out his cheeseburger and unwrapping it. So, this is his life right now: hiding in his room, in his own flat, because of a stupid alpha that's invading said flat. He's only gotten one bite out of his burger when the door opens.

What a surprise. It's Harry. The alpha's distinct smell begins to surround the room and it's suffocating Louis.

"Lou?" The alpha asks cautiously, tentatively opening the door just enough to fit his upper body. He looks almost shy to be invading Louis' space. Then again, Louis snapped at him earlier and he probably knows he isn't very much welcomed in Louis' room.

"Yes?" Louis asks curtly, putting his burger down and looking at Harry inquisitively. He really, really doesn't need this right now. He's itching to pinch his nose so he can't smell the boy, but that would just look weird.

"Would you like some lunch? I've made chicken-"

"I'm not in the mood for chicken." Louis replies easily.

Harry nods, his eyebrows furrowing, and he looks like he's hesitating to say something. He does so after a second. "I'm sorry if we're invading your flat like this. Uh. Did I... Did I do something wrong? Did I offend you, or anything?" He asks slowly, opening the door wider so that he could lean on the doorframe. He looks troubled, and Louis struggles not to roll his eyes. Leave it to Harry to be the epitome of polite, even in the midst of a bad confrontation.

Louis wants to tell him that _yes, Harry, you did something wrong. You've decided to come and stay in my life when I don't want you in it. Life was much, much easier when you weren't around and I'd appreciate it if you could just never show yourself to me ever again, you stupid, gorgeous alpha._ Instead, he shakes his head. "Nah, mate. Just don't feel like socializing," he shrugs. "Can you leave me alone now?"

Those last six words must sting more than Louis thought they would, because Harry leans back as if he were physically provoked, and nods. He suddenly looks grim. "Alright then. I'll see you later, Lou."

Louis should be happy. Every time he gets an alpha to back off, to steer clear from him, he's proud of himself. So why does he feel like such an ass for sending Harry away?

-

When Harry and Niall finally leave (he can tell because Niall shouts "Bye Zayn! Thanks for havin' us! And tell Louis to get well soon!"), Louis finally emerges from his room to throw the trash in the kitchen bin. Zayn's still in the kitchen, tidying things up, and he regards Louis with an arched brow. "Feeling better?" The beta asks, but they both know that Louis wasn't and isn't actually sick.

"Great." Louis says in a monotonous voice, sighing as he sits down on a stool and puts his elbows on the kitchen island counter.

"Harry told me he came into your room to ask you if you wanted lunch, but you were asleep. He looked proper upset after that, mate," Zayn says with a frown.

Wow. So despite being a complete tit towards Harry, the alpha actually lied to save Louis' face? He could have just told Zayn and Niall that Louis was rude to him, but he didn't, and Louis doesn't know what to do or how to feel about that.

"I'll eat his damned food later," Louis grunts. He thinks for a few seconds before he decides to break the real news to Zayn, effectively changing the topic away from Harry. "I'm going to stop using my heat suppressants."

Zayn almost drops the glass he's holding. His brown eyes are wide as he gapes at Louis. "You're _what_?! Why?! Does it have something to do with Harry?

Aaaand, the topic is back to Harry.

  
Yes. Louis wants to say. It has something to do with Harry. " _No_! Of course not! What does me not taking suppressants anymore have to do with him?!" He asks defensively, his voice becoming high-pitched with incredulity. It has a lot to do with the alpha, actually, but he isn't ready to admit it out loud. Not yet, and probably not ever. "I'm going to stop using them because they're becoming faulty. I think I'm becoming immune to them?" He bites his lip. He hates lying to Zayn, his best mate in the world, but he's afraid that if he says the truth out in the open it'll show just how pathetic he is. He's supposed to hate alphas, and here is his inner-omega being attracted to one in such a way that it made his trusty suppressants faulty. "And I went for a checkup this morning. They said I should stop taking them. Or else I might suffer from major organ damage later on. So I decided to stop. They're giving me another medicine that's supposed to control me from being attracted to alpha pheromones, but thankfully that one doesn't have grave side-effects."

He's tearing up. Fuck, he's not a crybaby by any means but it's killing him to lie to his best friend. But he can't tell Zayn right now, especially because Zayn tends to slip up sometimes and he can't let anyone know that his purely omega side is attracted to the tall, curly-haired alpha known as Harry Edward Styles.

"Louis," Zayn regards him with a sad look. He rounds the kitchen island so he could envelop Louis into a comforting hug just as Louis crumbles down and hides his face in his hands. God, what's happening to him? When did he get so weak? "It's alright, boo. At least you stopped before it got worse, huh? I don't want you getting ill. It's okay. Heats are normal. And if you ever go into one, I'll be there for you, okay? Not in that way... But I promise I'll help you out. Rush you out of class, track your heat cycles so I know when I have to sit in for you and tell your professors that you're 'sick', buy you toys if I have to. Lou, it's nothing to worry about. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I've got you, mate."

And there. Right there, Louis believes that Zayn is truly the only friend that he needs.

-

**From: Unknown Number**

_Hi, Louis. I got your number from Zayn. I just want to apologize if I've been annoying you lately. I really hope we could talk about it though, because I like being your friend. Hope you're feeling a lot better now, by the way. x_

**From: Unknown Number**

_This is Harry, by the way. x_

God. Harry signs his texts with a kiss symbol. It takes all of Louis' strength not to reply, but with how kind the alpha has worded his texts, how could he not? Louis could be an ass, but he's also taught to repay kindness with respect. He saves Harry's number before slowly typing out a reply to him.

  
**To: Harry Styles**

_Yea hey . Its OK . Im sorry i was being a twat , Im snappy when im sick ! Youre not annoying me . Im feeling better now , thanks harry . Ill see you in class_

He sends his message in and then, for some  reason he follows up with another text that he regrets right afterwards.

**To: Harry Styles**

_xx_

**From: Harry Styles**

_I'm looking forward to seeing you in class. (: xx_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For sOME reason I cannot, for the love of god, write longer chapters. I'm trying I SWEAR, but for some reason I just fit everything that I'd like to happen in above 1k and below 2k words. I'm sorry if my chapters are always so short, but at least I'm delivering them at a faster pace now, though, yeah?
> 
> Also, here are completely random things:  
> 1\. Do any of you own an IG account for makeup? I do! And I'd like to follow you if you have one. Just leave your username and I'll follow you. (: I love makeup.  
> 2\. For some reason I cannot, for the love of god, stand Danielle C. I never minded Eleanor, actually I think she's really cute, and I was even indifferent towards Briana, but man, Danielle and the whole Lounielle thing annoys me so much. And I don't understand why??  
> 3\. Larry is real ❤️ Despite everything else. Larry is real.  
> 4\. I am dying for some new kitten!louis fics. ):


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick look on why Louis is afraid of going off of suppressants. Also: Cheeky!Harry is back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what am i doing  
> I didn't re-read this and I just got back from an eleven hour trip so I'm so sorry if it's horrible ):

Louis wakes up early yet again the next day, on a Monday morning. He didn't get a good sleep last night since he was overthinking how he's going to go off of heat suppressants. The thing is, Louis has only experienced going into heat once, and that was when he presented as an omega. Heats usually occur for two to four days every two to three months, but he'd rather bleed from his dick once a month than experience an awful heat again. Heats without an alpha's knot are almost unbearable, and there's only so much that a toy knot can do. He's afraid that his first few heats will be more intense than ever due to the fact that he hasn't had one in years, and that scares him so much.

Still, that morning, he throws the rest of his suppressants in the garbage and takes his new medication with his breakfast. He has class at eight-thirty, and for once he's going to be fashionably early. After dressing up in loose-fitting jeans and a shirt that hides his dainty curves, and spraying his trusty scent-neutralizing spray all over his body, he heads to class: Issues of Practice. Louis hates going to school when his schedule disrupts his terrible sleeping patterns, but he has to admit that Architecture is such an interesting course. A few more years and he'll be Mr. Louis Tomlinson, Architecture, a rare thing for an omega to be. Of course, he isn't planning to let the whole world know about his status any time soon.

When he gets to his classroom it's only five minutes before eight AM and there's only two other people in the room. He smiles at them before taking a seat at the last row of chairs, in the corner. This way, he'll be able to freely doodle on his notebook and on his arms if the professor becomes too boring. He's not a bad student, he really isn't. He's just not fully-functioning in the morning.

It's about twenty minutes later when the chair next to him scrapes back, and when he looks up he's looking back at jade green eyes. He unconsciously releases an exhale from his lips - he has smelled the other alphas in the classroom, but they all blended together and he didn't even realize that Harry came into the room. Taking a small sniff of the air, he notices Harry's distinct smell, but it doesn't make his heart palpitate and his mouth go dry with dizzying need like it did the night before. The new medication works, he thinks happily. He isn't strongly attracted to Harry's scent anymore!

"Good morning, Lou," Harry grins down at him, tucking a long curl back against his ear as he sits down on the chair next to Louis. Louis doesn't understand how the man is so alive at this hour - the rest of the class seem to be trying to catch some last-minute sleep before the four-hour lecture begins. He looks dazzlingly, oddly fresh in his signature black skinny jeans, suede mustard boots and, this time around, a red and green plaid button up that would look ugly on anyone else. Harry makes it work for some reason, with the sleeves pushed back to reveal his tan and tattooed arms. Louis still hates him. (He wants to genuinely hate him. _So bad._ )

He sees a few beta girls turn their heads to look at Harry admiringly, and he feels oddly smug that Harry's eyes are intently focused on him.

Wait. Just the _in the world_  is he thinking???

Louis clears his throat and regards Harry by raising both his curved eyebrows. "Morning." He replies shortly, nodding at the alpha before he goes back to drawing on the back of his notebook. He's drawing mindless buildings, like he always does, but this time they're more messy than usual with what his anxiety about getting off of suppressants and being physically close to Harry again.

"I'm so glad you feel better, now. For a second I thought you actually hated me yesterday," Harry doesn't beat around the bush. He props his elbow on his desk and his cheek on his closed fist while he regards Louis with a soft smile, his doe eyes sparkling. Louis turns his gaze back to his drawing, humming lightly as he colors in a window with rushed scribbles. "Did you take your medicine properly?"

Louis startles, his black pen jumping out of his hands and rolling down the floor. Harry bends down to pick it up and Louis does not watch how his lean muscles strain against his thin top; the other people in class do, though. "Excuse me?" He asks, his azure eyes wide and afraid. His heart begins to beat erratically. _How does he know? Since when did he know? Who told him?_

Harry hands Louis back his pen and the secret omega takes it shakily. Harry blinks at Louis, regarding him with a curious look. "Yeah. I was worried about you, but you got better quicker than I thought you would. You must have taken medicine since you weren't feeling well." He explains, folding his arms over the desk, his gaze unwavering on the shorter boy.

Louis almost lets out a big sigh of relief. So Harry doesn't know about his new prescription drugs. "Yeah. Z gave me some meds for my fuzzy throat and my headache. Don't worry about it, I'm really okay now." He says, closing the back of his notebook and flipping it so he can open the front. His notes are scattered, his handwriting a messy scrawl, and he doesn't miss the way that the alpha next to him sniggers amusedly. He wants to snap at him, but he didn't like the way the light disappeared from Harry's eyes when he did so during the weekend. He's not going soft, though. He's _not._

Louis glances at Harry again to see the alpha still staring at him with a corner of his plump pink lips turned upwards. Louis absolutely doesn't flush. It seems like staring at Louis before, during and after class is something that the popular alpha likes doing. Everyone could see that in plain sight. Louis turns back to his notebook, flipping the pages until he has a fresh, blank sheet to write on. He's waiting for Harry to say something else but he just doesn't. Louis still feels Harry's gaze burning on him but the alpha doesn't say anything else.

Ten or so minutes later, Harry finally opens his mouth. "So. I was thinking..."

The professor comes walking into the room, saving Louis from the conversation.

...but not entirely from Harry.

The alpha slides a folded piece of paper onto Louis' desk, and upon Louis' quizzical look Harry only sends him half a handsome grin before turning back to the professor who's currently babbling on about the upcoming examinations.

Louis slowly folds the paper open and finds a quick but intricate drawing of what appears to be a shelf full of books. On the bottom, in neat handwriting, is a question that makes Louis' heart pathetically skip a beat. _No, it can't be, no, no, no--_

_Study **date** later? xx_

Harry has written the word 'date' is emphasized in bold, black ink and a thick underline. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I will be able to update later or tomorrow since I'm going to have an operation! Sorry in advance if I don't get to post a new chapter. x
> 
> Random: I'm so in love with Harry Styles. We are so lucky to be born in the same time as him.
> 
> Edit: after a few hours I've written the next chapter already... Oops. It'll have to wait though. (:


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About that date...

Louis should say no.

He should really, really say no to Harry's invitation for a study date, emphasis on the word 'date'.

He doesn't understand himself on why he rolls his eyes and folds the paper back only to slip it between the pages of his notebook for keepsakes. "You could have just asked so, mate," he whispers to Harry with a pointed look. He tries to control his face from heating up when he sees the smug look on Harry's face the moment he secures the paper into his beloved notebook.

They stay quiet in class for rest of the time. Professor Higgins is an old alpha who is notorious for punishing whoever disrespects his lecture time by making noise or causing a scene. Sleep or do whatever the hell you want to in his class, but the moment you begin to engage in a conversation with another student you'll get sent out of the room and be given a landfill of assignments.

After four gruesome hours of lessons, Louis has over seven back-to-back pages of notes written in tiny letters and Harry by his side as he walks to lunch. He's meeting Zayn in the campus cafeteria building, and where Zayn is, Niall usually is as well. The two have built quite the strong friendship surrounding music and drugs (the weed kind).

Louis doesn't like walking next to Harry at all... Ever since Harry's transferred, the curly-haired alpha has gotten so much attention from omegas and betas alike. And yeah, Louis is pretty popular as well, but it's nothing compared to the immense popularity Harry's been getting. And with their attention on Harry, their attention is also on Louis who's (grudgingly, unpleasantly) by his side. Harry is definitely a six-footer in height, and the heels of his boots just boost how tall he is. Louis, on the other hand, is helplessly small next to him at five-foot-three, and if a few people were thinking he was an omega back then, Louis is sure that a whole plethora of people are thinking about it now that they can see the sheer contrast of his tiny built next to a tall, lean and handsome alpha.

"I hate how bloody tall you are," Louis grumbles with a huff when yet another person they pass by has their eyes flit from the alpha to the pseudo-beta in secret.

Harry hums, looking down at his companion a bit before a grin takes over his face. "Really? I love it. Love how small and cute you are."

"Excuse me!" Louis shouts. Harry's comment earns him a slap to the arm. "I'm not small and cute. You're just fucking huge." He says, his brows furrowing. Alphas are genetically built to be large, but Harry is as tall as they're going to get. When the alpha doesn't reply, Louis looks up at him. Louis sees that Harry has his eyes straight ahead, and he's gnawing on his bottom lip. "Yes, you are. And yeah, I am. Huge." he says after a moment, and then his shoulders start shaking.

It doesn't hit Louis on what Harry thinks is so funny until five seconds later, and he pauses in his steps before his whole face turns red. He's made a sexual innuendo without meaning to, and apparently Harry finds it hilarious. Harry only keeps walking, a little sway to his hips as if to make fun of Louis. It seems like he's regained back his confidence and lost all of his shyness towards Louis the moment Louis agreed to their study date. "Oh, you're a giant prick alright," the omega calls after him before he walks until they're side-by-side again.

"Uhuh," Harry nods, raising his brows at Louis. "So. About that date."

"That _study_ date," Louis corrects him.

"That study _date_ ," Harry emphasizes the last word with a chuckle. "Our examinations are coming up and I thought it would be nice if we could study together."

"That's what a study date is, Harold." Louis tells him, looking up at the impossibly tall alpha male with a weird look.

Harry grins with his bottom lip trapped between his straight, pearly white teeth, his eyes sparkling with a mischievous mirth as they walk forward. "Yeah. Well. Would you like to come over to mine later and study? I feel like the library's going to be crowded, and I study better when I'm with a friend," the alpha's really just making up excuses, but he wanted to be properly alone with Louis for once. "And I'd like to show you a couple of house drawings of mine. I saw your scribble of one it was amazing, so I would like to have some your opinion and criticism on mine." Harry talks in such a slow drawl, but it's more sexy than anything else. Louis would hate being entranced by it. Good thing he definitely isn't.

He's touched that Harry finds his drawing nice, but they're not like his real sketches and renders of different buildings. "Thanks, I guess. And yeah, that sounds okay... I could come over at six after my last class?" He asks. They're near the cafeteria building now, so he should probably close up this conversation. "I'll look over your drawings and we could work on that assignment Higgins gave us."

"Great," Harry smiles down at the small boy. He's thinking about cooking them dinner, and perhaps Louis would like to watch a film after they've exhausted their brains from studying?  He's about to say ' _it's definitely a date!_ ' when Louis says something that makes his smile falter.

"I'll ask Zayn to come with." Louis says conversationally, as if he doesn't realize that Harry was looking forward to spending time with him and him alone.

Harry's brows furrow and his expression changes to one of disappointment. "Alright." So much for being alone with Louis for once.

Louis, on the other hand, feels like he just avoided having a very awkward and uncomfortable situation later. Harry's scent may have no effect on him anymore, but the boy as a whole still does, and that's something he doesn't like. He doesn't like how he can freely banter with Harry at times like these and how he enjoys it, or how he flushes red whenever the boy pays special attention to him. He wants to be an ass to Harry, but he just can't, and he isn't sure why. Maybe because the boy is too nice? Louis doesn't know but he thinks that as long as they won't be left alone in a room together, just the two of them, things will be as fine as they can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll have to forgive me for how shitty this chapter is. I've rewritten it from scratch because my stupid ass self deleted the note (I wrote it in my note app) thinking it was another chapter. Also, I spent all night until 3 am drinking and catching up with old friends...so this may have not made a lot of sense? I don't know. I'm so sorry. I'll try and do better next time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your support as always. That's 400 kudos and 100 bookmarks. Thank you and I hope you like this.
> 
> I added slow burn to the tags because some of you pointed that bit out. (:

It's currently eight PM, and Zayn is getting up to leave.

Louis had previously asked the beta to accompany him to Harry's for the night and Zayn had agreed. He never told Louis that he had other plans (with a girl, at that). So when Zayn excuses himself because he has plans with a girl named 'Pezza', Louis begins to panic.

The hour between six and seven PM was spent with Louis looking over at Harry's works: from his sketches to actual blueprints that he had rendered. Louis could tell that Harry had a lot of natural talent, and he seemed to be passionate about designing houses, in and out, the most, just like Louis. Louis loved to imagine and make models of houses because when he was younger he always dreamed of a bigger and better house for his then-struggling family. Thankfully now that they were better off (not nearly as wealthy as Harry was), Louis didn't have to worry about how his sisters would have to share tiny rooms or there not having enough space for all of them. Besides, Louis had already left the nest and he wasn't planning on returning anytime soon. Still, the fascination for creating innovative and beautiful living spaces remained with him.

Seven to eight PM was spent going over their notes for Issues of Practice. Apparently Harry hadn't been paying a lot of attention during today's discussion - Louis didn't ask why, but he had an assumption of his own- and needed to copy Louis' while Louis went over some of Harry's architecture plates and attempted to recreate some of his works.

Louis was comfortable sitting on the floor with his back on the sofa, facing Harry, because Zayn was right next to him and made the atmosphere less awkward for him. See, despite them "studying", Louis could feel eyes on him every once in a while and they certainly weren't Zayn's. Now that Zayn is leaving, he's panicking on the inside.

Would it be rude to call it a day and go home as well?

"But I was just about to cook us dinner," Harry tells Zayn after the beta excuses himself. He has a disappointed frown on his face, but his eyes are still green and sparkling.

"You can still cook for Lou. I'm sure he'll appreciate it since he's shite at cooking and feeding himself," Zayn grins down at his omega friend. Louis sends him a glare as he puts his pencil down. "You're shite," he retaliates haughtily.

Harry turns to Louis then, his frown completely replaced by a large grin now. It's really handsome, especially with his silky, chocolate-brown curls framing his face like that.

Louis needs to stop thinking of Harry as things like handsome.

"Are you up for it, Lou? I'm about done here anyway, and to be quite honest I think we've had enough for the night."

It's bullshit actually, because aside from practicing for his practical exam Louis hasn't actually reviewed anything yet. Louis isn't stupid to not realize that this whole arrangement was probably made by Harry just so that they could spend a little time together, but since Louis is already here, he figures why not indulge the alpha a little? (It's his stomach speaking. He's hungry and he's tired from the lectures he had all day and being fed sounds awfully wonderful right now.)

"I'm up for it," he confirms with a sigh, returning Harry a one-second smile before he closes his sketchpad and puts his drawing tools on top of it. He stands up and stretches as Harry does the same, and they go see Zayn out the door together.

Five minutes later he's finding himself in Harry's spotless kitchen, sitting on the island counter. He's swinging his legs back and forth high off the ground as he watches the alpha move around the kitchen, gathering ingredients and preparing everything that he needs to cook. Louis himself was awful in the kitchen: as a child he refused to learn how and when he presented an omega it only made his belief against kitchenware stronger.

 _Omegas are supposed to cook, clean, and do the rest of the household chores, like good little housewives,_ a voice that resembled his deadbeat dad would always play in his head whenever someone suggested to him that he should learn how to cook proper meals.

"You sure do like to cook." Louis randomly notes as he watches Harry begin to slice up various vegetables and meat. There's a bag of pasta not too far away and Louis' mouth waters at the thought of having pasta. Harry makes _amazing_ pasta dishes.

Harry glances back at him with a small smile before returning his focus on the chopping board. "I like to cook for people."

"That's obvious," Louis rolls his eyes. "Isn't that very omega-ish?"

He knows that Harry is frowning by now. " _Louis_ ," his voice is deep and laced with seriousness. It makes Louis shiver. "Cooking isn't an 'omega thing'. Where did you get that idea from?"

"Oh you know," Louis sighs shakily, shrugging. He looks down at his lap and picks at a loose thread of the loose joggers he had exchanged his jeans for before coming to Harry's. "A lot of people." Just one, actually.

Harry is silent for a second as he deposits whatever he's chopped up into a pot. "Not a lot of people think that way anymore. You know that, right? Omega stereotypes aren't widely imposed or thought about anymore, Louis." At that, Louis hums. "How should I know? I'm not an omega."

Harry stays quiet after that. Louis begins to grow awfully impatient and restless where he's sitting, so as Harry's mixing ingredients of whatever he's cooking (it's a surprise, apparently) he takes out his phone and chooses a random track on his music app.

The Fray's _Look After You_ begins to play in the room and Louis fumbles for his phone so clumsily that he almost drops it. He wasn't paying attention to what song he tapped on, but a romantic song wasn't what he was planning to listen to with Harry, of all people. "Crap," he mumbles as he searches for a better song; one that isn't sweet and mellow.

**_If I don't say this now I will surely break_  
** As I'm leaving the one I want to take  
Forget the urgency but hurry up and wait  
My heart has started to separate 

"Don't change it. I like it." Harry tells him, sending Louis yet another soft smile as he puts the pot on the stove. The corner of Louis' lips twitch upwards, his eyes brightening. The Fray is his absolute favorite band and having someone appreciate his favorite song is actually kind of nice. "Yeah? They're my favorite band."

"It's a lovely song."

**_Oh, oh, oh_  
** _Oh, oh, oh_  
Be my baby  
Oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh  
Be my baby  
I'll look after you 

They listen to the rest of the song in silence, Harry's concentration still on the food he's making.

Louis takes this time to appreciate Harry unabashedly, knowing he isn't going to get caught when Harry's back is turned to him. He thinks about how perfect Harry is: effortlessly gorgeous, sweet and kind. He'd be the exact person who would say something like " _I'll look after you_ ". Louis thinks that Harry would be such a great boyfriend. Not for _him_ , but for someone else. Harry would make sure his significant other is well fed, well loved. He'd walk them to their classes whenever he could, ask them how their day is going, and just- Louis wills himself to stop thinking about things and just appreciate what's happening now. There's no way in the world that he'd have an alpha as great as Harry. In fact, there is no way that he would have an alpha at all. _At all._ Even if Harry did like him, Louis could never imagine himself with someone.

They all start out the same: sweet and treats you like you're something precious. Like you're the world. But he can't risk something like falling in love with someone who at the start is the perfect person, but in the end is only a heartbreaker. Someone who will treat you like a diamond in the beginning, and in a few years time will treat you like dirt. Like you're nothing.

He just can't risk giving his heart out to someone. He's seen what 'love' to his mum and he never wants to experience it.

**_There now, steady love, so few come and don't go_  
** _Will you, won't you be the one I'll always know?  
When I'm losing my control, the city spins around  
You're the only one who knows, you slow it down_

But. So far.

So far Harry must be every omega's idea of a perfect dream.

"You." Louis swallows. "You're actually not that bad of an alpha, Styles." It takes him a lot of pride to say those words. He thinks that Harry deserves it for cooking for him. And being nice whenever he's an ass (and there's been a lot of instances of that). Louis is nicer, softer when he's hungry. 

Harry laughs, his broad shoulders shaking slightly. "And you're actually not that bad of an omega, Tomlinson."

Louis freezes.

_Omega?_

He stammers, his eyes wide and his heart hammering in his chest. "What did you just say?"

The last few notes of _Look After You_ fades off into the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been away. I've had an operation, and a week ago I've been given a job opportunity in the biggest bank in my country. It's really hard to get in, they almost never take fresh grads, but they want me to have a panel interview with them even though I didn't take the screening exam, so wish me luck guys! 
> 
> ANYWAYYYYYYY. Like always, this hasn't been proofread. AND: I really want to make a story about kitten!Louis. Just a oneshot, but longer than my usual chapter length. Thoughts? Suggestions? x


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuun. 
> 
> Harry is sorry. So is Louis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for the wait! 
> 
>  
> 
> **Please check and subscribe to my newest fic which features kitten!Louis:[Ribbons In Your Hair](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7319863/chapters/16625962)**
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you like this!

Louis can't breathe. His airway's closing up and he's feeling so light-headed that he might pass out. Harry just called him an omega. Louis, who's gone all his ways to hide his identity from the alpha in particular, was just called an omega by the same person he's been strongly keeping his gender from. _Fuck_.

He hears Harry speaking, but it doesn't register in his ears. Everything feels muted and blurry and _fuck, fuck, fuck_. Is his cover really blown?

A gentle hand shakes him out of his silent panic attack, and he takes a sudden rush of air into his lungs. He still feels like he's going to drop to the floor dead. "Are you okay?" Harry is standing in front of him, towering over him with a concerned look like the gentle giant that he is.

"Sorry- I. What did you say?" Louis asks weakly, looking completely vulnerable for the first time in front of the man.

"I was saying that I slipped. I meant to call you a beta, but," Harry's tentative smile is sheepish, and he rubs the back of his neck with the hand that isn't resting on Louis' shoulder. "You're just so _small_ , you know?" The way he says 'small' makes it seem that he's endeared with Louis' ... 'feature'.

Louis doesn't believe him. He _shouldn't_ believe him, but Harry looks so openly honest that it sort of hurts not to. "What does that have to do with you calling me a fucking omega, though?!" He seethes, angry all of a sudden. Harry called him an omega. He's not sure if Harry actually thinks he is one. Louis almost had a breakdown. He almost blew his cover, but at this point he doesn't know if he's still safe.

Harry looks apologetic as he removes his hand from Louis and puts his hands on his own back. "I just. I've never seen such a tiny and pretty beta before, it honestly just slipped from my mouth-"

"Tiny? _Pretty_?" Louis asks incredulously. It had been okay when Harry took a playful jab at his height while they were walking to the cafeteria earlier today. He hates the way his inner omega had preened and sung its heart out when Harry admitted to finding him pretty. Because. No. No. Louis isn't going to let his walls down right now. In fact, he should build them higher. "You _fucker_. I come from a family of really short people, my alpha sister's 5"5 at most!" He says defensively. It's a lie of course. His alpha sister, Felicite, is younger than him but stands five-foot-right already even if she's just sixteen years old.

He wants to hop off of the counter already, but standing up he's going to be extremely shorter than he looks at the moment, so he doesn't. He glares up at the alpha who looks sorry and pained. Good.

"I'm sorry, I've offended you," Harry says lowly, his eyebrows furrowed as he glares down at his feet. He looks like he's angry at himself. Louis has never seen such a side from him before. "I never want to do that. I'm really sorry, Louis. I know you're a beta, fuck, I can't even smell you at all so that says as much. But like." Harry can't come up with proper sentences, and Louis can genuinely see him beating himself up on the inside because of his reckless mouth. "I'm sorry. It just came out my mouth. I didn't mean to offend you."

Louis sniffles and scratches his cheek, his anger quickly dissipating, yet his heart's still beating exceptionally fast. He believes Harry now, is the thing. He looks too sorry not to be truthful right now. "It's okay," he says quietly after a second, his blue eyes looking down on his lap. He feels Harry's gaze back on him. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you. I just hate it when people accuse me of being an omega. Believe it or not, you're not the first person to call me one, and it's just. I hate it." He hates it because they're onto him, and that because of the way he looks- the way he's built- he can't pull off being a beta a hundred percent. He's had people push him into admitting that he's an omega and try to date him because of it before, for fuck's sake.

They're silent for a few moments. "I won't mess up again," Harry says seriously. It's like he's promising himself more than he's promising Louis. "I would never want to hurt your feelings, Louis."

And now this. This is too much. Harry is still so nice, even if Louis had lashed out on him and even cussed him. He's so thoughtful of Louis' feelings, and it's just another reminder for Louis to be careful. Be careful. Don't let your guard down anymore. You can't fall for this guy. You can't. He's still an alpha, and you're just an omega pretending to be a beta.

A pang of guilt hits Louis like a train-wreck. All this time Harry's been so kind to him, so sweet and careful.

Louis has been nothing but a filthy liar who's digging a deeper and deeper hole of lies. There's no denying that Harry's constantly in his life; he should tell him he's not actually a beta, shouldn't he? Harry deserves to know, and Louis suddenly feels so bad for being a straight-up liar who's been mad at the alpha just because he thought his lies didn't come through.

But he just can't, he can't tell him. Not right now. Possibly not ever.

"I gotta go." Louis says suddenly.

He has to think. His head feels like it's going to burst from overthinking, but he has to go somewhere and think things through. His mind is a jumbled mess right now, and he needs somewhere to properly collect his thoughts. He gets off of the counter and lightly pushes Harry away by the chest. He's over two heads shorter than the man, and that's already a dead giveaway of his actual status.

"I'm really sorry for upsetting you," Harry repeats with a concerned frown. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I just." Louis nods, not once looking at Harry as he exits the kitchen and heads to collect his things in the living room. "My head hurts all of a sudden." That part's not entirely a lie.

Louis could feel Harry's dampened mood from a mile away and feels even guiltier than he was a minute ago. "Sorry I won't be able to have dinner with you," he says, lacing up his shoes before standing up. He still won't meet Harry's eyes. "Maybe next time, yeah?"

Harry smiles down at his shoes sadly. It's a pained smile that Louis doesn't see. "Sure, Louis. I hope you feel better." He carefully shows the omega out the door, and Louis leaves without looking back at Harry even once.

When Louis gets home, he gets a text.

**From: Harry Styles**  
_I hope you're okay. I'm so, so sorry._

The guilt in his system comes creeping into his chest.

' _Me too_ ', Louis thinks. ' _For a lot of things, I'm sorry too'._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this one. I got very hyped writing it. We all know Louis is keeping his omega status a secret, but. Like. Is Harry keeping things from him as well? Who knows. 
> 
> **Do you see a new character tag in this fic?** If so, I'm sorry in advance. x CAN SOMEONE PLEASE DESCRIBE TO ME HOW DANIELLE CAMPBELL LOOKS LIKE because everytime I see a photo of Louis and her I scroll by it so fast that my screen might just fly off of my phone! lol. What color are her eyes? Don't worry about the tag, though. It's nothing major. (;
> 
> Please don't forget to check out my new fic, Ribbons In Your Hair! (: If you like fluff, that one's for you!!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis meets a new... friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll love this chapter.

Louis ends up not going to school the next day. He misses all of his classes, and he knows he could be truly fucked come exam week, but he wasn't able to get any sleep after coming home from Harry's. He couldn't stop overthinking and it lead to an immense headache coupled with a budding fever. He's too warm and too weak to come to class, and he thinks he might need time away from Harry (a lot of time, all of eternity if possible) so he stays at home that day.

He rests until the late afternoon, and when he feels a little better he works on his drafts and submission plates. Zayn tells Louis he'll pick up some medicine for him on his way home, and he does so. Only... That's not the only thing he brings back home to Louis that evening.

He's holding a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers, simply wrapped in cream colored twine. Zayn throws him a tablet pack of Ibuprofen + Paracetamol before approaching him, the bouquet in his hands.

Louis drops his pen stretches out his legs underneath the coffee table he's working on. "Oh, Zayn, you didn't have to," he says, fluttering his lashes at the beta obnoxiously. His voice is raspy and weak, but Zayn grins at his attempt to be humorous despite his current situation. "I didn't know you liked me."

"Oh I didn't. And I don't," Zayn grins wider. It's a little wry, if you look close enough. "...Harry sent them. For you."

Louis' heart begins to beat ten times faster, and he's staring at Zayn like he's waiting for him to say something else. "You're joking right?"

"Not joking, no," Zayn shakes his head and bends down to hand Louis the bouquet. Louis hesitantly takes it, and he smells the faintest trace of the alpha on the bouquet... Almost as if Harry assembled the thing himself. He picks up the cream colored card nestled in the array of baby's breath and sunflowers. On the front it says ' _To Louis_ ' in neat handwriting that he's definitely sure is Harry's. He flips the card and reads what's behind it:

_Sending you sunshine, Sunshine. x_

And okay, _no_ , Harry should stop being so nice to him, _what the fuck_. And who sends sunflower bouquets to beta boys anyway? Harry, apparently.

Louis probably stares at the bouquet and the card in his hands for too long because Zayn suddenly pipes up to break the silence. "He really likes you, you know."

Louis does know. He's so aware of it, is the thing. His inner omega is aware of it too. It would be so easier for him if Harry weren't interested in him at all. Why does it have to be him anyway, out of all people? Why Louis?

"Frankly, I don't really care, Zee," Louis says after a moment. He stands up and heads to the kitchen, and Zayn follows him.

"If you don't care then why are you looking for a vase to put those flowers in?" Zayn chuckles. Louis sends him a glare. To think, Zayn knows about his current predicament of Harry might knowing about his actual status as an omega! "I'm not looking for a vase for it!" Louis defends himself. He wants to make a show out of it, maybe throw away the bouquet in the trash can right next to him, but he finds that he can't do that. He'll have to set it aside for now and put it in a vase later, in his room maybe, when Zayn isn't around to laugh at his expense. Instead he puts the bouquet down on the kitchen island and grabs a glass of water so he can drink his medicine.

Zayn seems to know not to bug Louis regarding Harry anymore. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah," Louis nods after taking his meds. "I can come to school now."

"Do you want to come with me and Pez for dinner tomorrow? I don't want to cook and we have plans, but it's not actually a date. She's bringing a friend along I think."

"I'm not going on a double date with you." Louis deadpans.

"Calm down, Louis." Zayn rolls his eyes. "The girl's a harmless beta, and I'm pretty sure she just broke up with her alpha boyfriend. Perrie's trying to cheer her up by taking her out more and stuff."

"And stuff," Louis scoffs. Though, the aspect of going out and enjoying the night somewhere else rather than being cramped up in their apartment seems nice to Louis. Plus, no Harry to make his head hurt and his heart confused. "Okay, then. It's a date."

"Not a date." Zayn shakes his head and laughs.

That night, Louis puts the flowers in a vase full of fresh water, and sets it on his nightstand. He admires the beautiful sunflowers wistfully for a moment before going to bed.

 

* * *

 

  
The next day, Louis arrives particularly late to all of his classes that he shares with Harry so that he gets to sit at the very back of the lecture halls and classrooms, far away from the sweet alpha as he can. He's not avoiding him (he is), he's just not in the mood to deal with Harry's kind words, probably things like 'I hope you feel better now' and 'the sunflowers reminded me of you'. He slinks out of the classes as soon as they're over, and eats lunch with Zayn at a restaurant instead of the cafeteria in school. Thankfully, Zayn doesn't pester Louis about Harry, and he doesn't ask why Louis doesn't want to eat lunch with Harry and Niall.

Louis survives the day without having to talk to or look at Harry, and it gives him a weird sense of satisfaction. This is him re-building his walls because he doesn't know if he should even trust the alpha. He doesn't know what to make of him anymore after their almost-dinner when Harry had slipped and called him an omega. It's too risky. Everything's too risky if he's around Harry, so avoiding the man is his best bet right now at retaining his problem-free life as a 'beta'.

After their classes, Louis and Zayn meet up with Perrie and her beta friend at a 80's themed Diner a few blocks away from the university. Perrie is the pretty blonde omega Zayn's 'casually' been seeing for a few months already, and she's literally everybody's friend. She's the epitome of nice and friendly, which is probably why Zayn likes her: she brings him out of his shell, and she's all infectious smiles and laughter that it's hard not to feel happy around her.

Her friend is pretty too. When Zayn and Louis get to the diner, they're already there, sitting in a corner booth. Perrie's talking a mile a minute and her friend is looking out the window, her cheek cradled in her palm and her elbow on the table. She's got jade green eyes that Louis can see even from where he's standing, wavy brown hair, peachy glowing skin, and plump pink lips that are pulled downwards with a slight pout. Louis will not deny that he's immediately attracted to the way she looks; she's very cute. But she seems very sad, as well.

The two males approach the tables, and Perrie and the other girl immediately look up at them. Perrie beams, gesturing them to sit down, and Louis slides into the booth first, having him face the unknown girl.

"Zayn, Louis, this is Danielle," Perrie introduces them. "She's in a few of my classes." They take Fashion Arts. "She's a wee bit sad right now cause her ex was a downright tit,"

"Perrie," Danielle sighs.

"But she's really fun most of the time."

Louis has to laugh at that.

Danielle is a nice person, he figures out. She's a bit quiet at first but he's sure that it's because she's going through her breakup at the moment. He gets to make her laugh a lot throughout the night, though, and he counts each time that he puts a smile on her face as an accomplishment. Louis' mum always says he's good at making people happy.

Two hours later, they're heading home and Louis has a new number saved on his phone. Danielle and him hit it off real quick, and Louis is always glad to make a new friend. (Plus, he's slightly taller than her and for some reason he counts that as a win. As a male omega, being taller than anyone is always something nice.)

"Lou," Zayn shakes his head as they head home, Louis smiling at his phone as he types out a quick 'good night! x' to his new girl friend.

"What?"

Zayn keeps quiet. "You know what you're getting into, right?"

Louis scoffs, pocketing his phone. "Uh. What's wrong with making a new friend? It's not like I'm interested in her in _that_ way."

"Yeah, but. Like. Are you sure?"

"Positive," Louis rolls his eyes. He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and he immediately fishes it out. It's from Danielle of course.

 **From: Danielle Campbell**  
_Good night Louis. Thanks for tonight. See you soon, I hope. x_

Louis smiles at his screen, but he immediately frowns when he notices Zayn looking at him almost calculatingly.

"What, Z?"

Zayn stays silent for a moment, before shaking his head. "Nothing."

Louis' phone vibrates again, and this time, it's not Danielle who's texting him.

 **From: Harry Styles**  
_Finally feeling better? Good night, Louis. x_

Louis shouldn't feel guilty. He doesn't have a reason to. But there's a sinking feeling in his stomach anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i know i know that i let you down, is it too late to say sorry now? ): (:
> 
> (It's like 2 in the morning i really am sorry)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter but I hope this makes it up to you guys.. In a way. More to come asap.

Louis avoids and avoids and _avoids_ Harry.

It's a good thing it's nearing examinations week, because he's always balls deep in his coursework and reviewing that Harry actually believes him whenever he says he can't hang out or give the alpha a minute of his day. He eats lunch in the drafting room or in another restaurant or a café outside school where it's quieter and he can focus on his academics. Louis is far from a bad student, so it's completely believable when he would like to be alone to concentrate on his studies.

What's not okay, Zayn thinks, is the fact that Louis has been keeping up with Danielle, the beta, despite always making up excuses that he can't come hang out, or even reply to Harry's messages directly. Whenever Harry texts the omega to ask him about his day or try to hold a conversation with him (they never really had a normal one after Harry called him an omega) it's always 'sorry, busy!' or 'I really can't have a conversation right now. Doing plates!'. But then Zayn always finds Louis picking up his phone even if he is working on his plates or going over his notes.

It's quite obvious that the girl is interested in Louis, and Louis is at least interested in being close to her. It's irritating because even if Danielle's a sweet girl, Zayn thinks it's unnatural how Louis is keeping someone he knows is interested in him close. He never does that, and Zayn doesn't know what to think of it. He knows that Louis and the girl go on dinner dates together (as friends, Louis always presses), and sometimes the girl would keep the omega company whenever he's busy making the finishing touches to his plates.

Naturally, Harry has no idea who Danielle is.

Louis doesn't see the alpha that much. During classes, he sits as far away from Harry as possible, slowly rebuilding the walls which had sadly crumbled for the tall and kind alpha. For lunch, Louis never joins them anymore. Harry doesn't bother coming over to Louis and Zayn's anymore, feeling unwelcome.

Examinations week passes as one giant blur of deadlines and submissions for the architecture students, theory and practical exams draining them of all of their energy. Right after his last exam, Danielle asks him out for coffee, and who is Louis to say no to the drink which fuels his entire system?

They go to Starbucks, ever cliché, but Louis welcomes the familiarity of the scene. They sit in a corner table, facing each other, and the beta buys Louis a warm beverage to celebrate him finishing all of his exams and surviving through the terror of it all.

Danielle is sweet, and not in the way that has Louis cringing or wanting to run away from her. She's thoughtful, always asking if she's bothering him whenever they're talking, afraid she's disturbing his studying, and sometimes she gives him little things like coffee and cupcakes. It's nice, Louis thinks, to have a friend like her.

Now, again, he isn't an idiot. He norices the sparkle in her eyes whenever she looks at him. He feels relatively bad whenever his thoughts run back to the fact that she thinks he's a beta as well. To the fact that he isn't interested at her at all in that way he should probably he. But,!he truly likes her company.

And, well, she distracts him from his thoughts about Harry. Harry, who he can't seem to completely shake off from his thoughts. Harry, who still texts him good morning and good night everyday despite him not replying. Harry, who he fucking dreams of every night even though he doesn't want to. So as much as Harry Edward Styles tries to occupy his mind, Louis won't let him.

Louis and Danielle are talking about what they're going to do over the break once the semester finishes when the door to the café opens and Louis gets a whiff of a particular smell of an alpha.

He whips his head around to see Harry walking towards the front of the bar to order. Louis is wearing his usual neutralizing spray, and Danielle is a beta so they both smell like nothing, and he's pretty sure that's the reason why Harry doesn't notice him immediately.

Harry does, of course, notice Louis after a few moments. Right as the alpha's picking up his drink he catches sight of Louis. He stares at the boy, and then at Danielle who's tangling their feet together below the table. Louis sees the exact moment as Harry's face hardens, his brows furrowing and his nostrils flaring. The alpha exits the café without so much as a smile towards Louis. He sinks down lower in his seat and ignores whatever Danielle's telling him.

Louis' never seen Harry like that before. He didn't just look disappointed... He looked downright _mad_.

 

Before he goes to sleep that evening, he waits for any messages but Harry doesn't text him  a good night like he always does. The alpha doesn't text him in the morning, either. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People kept saying they didn't want Harry sad. Sad Harry? What sad!Harry? You guys get mad!Harry instead, and I promise this isn't the end of it.
> 
> I had to delete all of my other works. This is the only one I actually really like. The hybrid one didn't go as planned, and after getting insulted in the comments section I just had to delete it. If you liked that one, I'm sorry. And if you don't like my work, just stop reading it?? Thanks.
> 
> I wish people were more tactful.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis wants to talk. He doesn't know how, but he wants to.

The way Louis waits for Harry's usual good morning text, the one he always doesn't reply to, is quite pathetic. He's got all of Sunday to grovel and feel like shit, and so far he's spent the first three hours after waking up staring at his phone.

Louis knows Harry's mad, and he has a lot of reason to be. For one, Louis always made pathetic excuses so Harry and he wouldn't spend time together, yet there he was spending quality time with a new girl who tangled their legs together and looked at him affectionately like they were a thing. Another reason is while Louis kept shutting having a conversation with Harry off by either not replying to him or replying busily/disinterestedly, he seemed to be fine with keeping up with other people.

Harry's always expressed how much he likes Louis, whether the boy's an omega or a beta. Louis' got the wilting flowers on his nightstands, the month-old leftovers in his fridge and the constant sweet messages on his phone to prove it. Even if Harry and him aren't together the slightest, Louis knows it's justifiable that the alpha is pissed at him. It's not fair that he is, but Louis isn't completely being fair either.

So the morning passes by without so much as a ' _good morning_ ' or a ' _hello_ ' from Harry, and lunch is a blur of cereal and milk. Zayn wakes up at two and raids the fridge. He spots Louis in the kitchen- the omega has his cheek pressed against the island counter, his phone in his head.

"Who died?" Zayn asks sleepily as he plucks out the large bottle of orange juice in the fridge.

Louis grumbles though he doesn't move from his current position. "Me."

"What happened?" Zayn sniggered, sitting on the stool opposite of Louis.

Louis kind of doesn't want to talk about everything. He knows that Zayn doesn't exactly approve of Danielle and his' budding relationship ( _friendship_ ) for different reasons (Harry might getting upset, Danielle possibly developing a big crush on Louis, Louis digging a deeper grave for himself, etcetera). Zayn will probably reprimand him for his stupid actions (avoiding Harry, being rude as a result to avoiding Harry, making Danielle feel like she has a chance with him when she clearly doesn't, etcetera). But Louis also kind of wants someone to talk to about things.

"Harry saw me and Dani getting coffee and he got mad," Louis mopes, still unmoving. Zayn is silent for a few moments before he smacks Louis on the head. Louis sits straight up and whines. " _Hey_ , watch it! I'm a delicate omega! You should treat me better!" He sniffs.

"You hate being an omega. You're a beta to me, Lou."

"You're right. I'm a delicate _beta_. You should treat me way, way better." Louis says haughtily.

"I asked you if you knew what you were doing, and you said yes. I'm assuming Harry put two and two together when he saw you guys and got mad at the fact that you're putting him off for a beta girl, hm?" Zayn asks, standing up to fix himself a meal.

Louis lowers his head, shrugging. "Well... I mean. I guess."

"Idiot," the raven-haired beta murmurs under his breath. "Well then. Apologize."

"What? What do I even say? Sorry I have a girl-who-is-a-friend?" Louis cries out, tugging at his hair out of frustration. "Sorry that you called me a fuckin' omega, and I got scared, and I'm fuckin' frightened you know that about me? That that's the reason why you seem to like me? Cause I'm an omega and I can be your fuckin' _baby machine_ or summat?!"

Zayn stops what he's doing and turns to Louis with a soft look on his usually sharp features. "Louis."

Louis sighs and slumps against the table.

"You know he isn't like that."

"They're all the same."

"No they're not, Louis. Your biological dad, he fucking sucked, alright? He was a disgrace of an alpha. But what about your mum's new husband? Isn't he the best father ever? Didn't your mum tell you how good he is with her? With the kids?" Zayn continues on. "What about my dad? What about your sister, Fizzy, are you saying she's bad as well?"

"You know that's not what I mean."

Zayn rolls his eyes, but he looks at Louis carefully. "I know you're scared of a lot of things, Lou. But Harry shouldn't be one of them."

"How do you know?" Louis huffs.

Zayn grins softly. "Everyone can see the way he looks at you. It's something special."

* * *

 

Despite Zayn urging Louis to go talk to Harry, and Louis trying to work up the courage to do just that, it's actually pretty difficult. Should he come over to Harry's flat, or should he just text him? Call him, maybe?

What should he even _say_ to Harry?

The rest of that Sunday afternoon and evening is spent thinking until his head aches, and by the time he's tired himself out he still doesn't know what to do.

"He's not my boyfriend or anything, even," Louis reasons to himself as he climbs into bed. "I have nothing to be sorry for. Well, maybe I do, but still. It's his fault for taking my ass for an omega. Even if I am one... Fuck him," he tucks himself under the sheets and rests on his side, looking out his window, at the moon, which serves as his nightlight. He closes his eyes and sighs. He's clueless on what to do tomorrow. "Fuck me."

* * *

 

First class of the day: Contemporary Architecture, also known as the class where Louis and Harry first met. Louis is back in his old seat and Zayn's nowhere to be seen as usual.

It surprises him when Harry takes the seat next to him. He doesn't know if he should greet Harry, and if so, how does he do it?

Apparently he doesn't have to make the first move because Harry's turning to him. "Morning," the alpha drawls in that usual low voice of his. Louis allows himself to look at Harry properly. The man's got on a plain white shirt and his usual skinny jeans and suede boots. His hair is thrown in a lazy bun and... he looks very tired. Louis thinks that's a given though since examinations week were completely life-sucking.

He deflates in his seat, not having realized that his body was stiff and rigid before Harry acknowledged his presence. "Good morning, Harry."

He's expecting a smile or at least _something_ , but Harry only hums and turns away from him, putting his attention mainly on his phone. It's a far cry from the Harry that Louis has always known, but he gets it. He does.

When Zayn offers Louis to sit back with Harry and Niall for lunch, he hesitantly agrees. Harry had ignored him for most of the class, only giving him attention when Louis accidentally dropped his pen and Harry (barely) had to reach down to retrieve it.

They go to a pizza parlor outside of campus, and Niall generously pays as a reward for all of them getting through their examinations without dying or trying to kill themselves. Louis is sitting next to Zayn, and is seated opposite to Niall who's sitting next to Harry.

"Good to have you back, Lou. We missed ya," Niall grins at him genuinely.

"Been busy," Louis says lamely, offering a weak smile. He hears Harry make a small sound, something akin to a scoff, and his smile falters.

"Harry here tells me you've got yourself a girlfriend," Niall teases him. _God_ , maybe it would have been better if Louis did die during exam week.

"No," he says slowly, shaking his head. "Don't know what he's talking about, mate."

"Sure you don't." Niall laughs. Zayn grins, but his eyebrows are furrowed.

"I don't."

"Are you sure, Louis?" Harry asks, looking Louis dead in the eye. He looks calm and collected, but the omega can see how dark his eyes are. He's never seen Harry this way... It's like he's a whole other person today. "Because she's coming over here right now."

Louis and Zayn turn around in their seats, and sure enough there's the brunette beta Louis has been getting to know, bounding up to their table with a sparkling smile on her face.

"Damn, she's pretty cute," Louis hears Niall whisper.

"Lou! Hey," Danielle trills, and of course Louis has to stand up to greet her and give her a friendly hug.

Harry laughs humorlessly, and when Louis turns back to look at him, he sees the way Harry's lips are twisted into a displeased- almost _pained_ \- frown, his green eyes fixed angrily on the plate in front of him. He looks like he's trying not to explode with the way his large hands are balled up into fists on the table. At the same time he looks like he's trying his best not to storm away and brood elsewhere.

Louis gets inwardly upset at the way Harry's acting, but he knows there's good reason behind it.

He's sorry to have caused the frown on the alpha's face, and he knows that he has to get Harry alone and finally make things right again.

He definitely has to talk to him later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I'd like to thank all of you for your nice words. (: They meant a lot to me. This chapter is for you guys!! Second of all, I hope you still like where this is going. I had a difficult time to write angry!Harry and still make his character constant, but I hope it turned out fine. We still have a long way to go though... Reminding everyone of that Slow Burn tag...
> 
> Also, I would like to randomly share that your girl won a Too Faced x Skinny Dip London contest. I'm screaming. They're sending me different colored eyeliners and a rainbow bag. I love rainbows. ♪ Love is love. Love wins. Happy pride. ♪


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch.

The rest of their lunch is slightly awkward. Apparently Danielle is alone for lunch, her best friend she usually spends her lunch breaks with being out sick and Perrie having a different time schedule. Despite being wary that he'll make Harry even more pissed off, Louis invites Danielle to eat lunch with them and she slides right into the seat next to him.

"What's your name then? I'm Niall," Niall says in lieu of a greeting, holding his hand out from across the table to shake the girl's hand.

"Danielle. Dani's fine," Danielle beams, shaking his hand for a quick second. "And this is?" She asks, tilting her head to a side as she smiles softly at Louis.

Harry leans back in his seat and forces a smile on his face. It lasts for only a second. "Harry."

"Nice to meet you," Danielle says kindly to the both of them. Louis sits there stiffly as the waiter comes with their order and adds an extra plate for the lady. The girl's quite talkative when she isn't sad, and tells Niall and Harry all about her exhausting exams and how she spent some of her time studying with Louis.

"Is that how you guys hit it off then? Studying?" Harry asks, raising a brow. Louis almost shoots him a glare.

Danielle continues on, unaffected. "Well, we met at The Diner and he was really funny and nice, so I guess we hit it off pretty quickly," she said honestly, leaning against Louis and offering the omega another smile. "So hanging around with him while we studied was _very_  cool and fun. Except Louis almost always falls asleep on his work."

"I do not!" Louis retorts with a genuine laugh as he grabs a slice for himself. Danielle looks at him like she's waiting for something, and he realizes that she's actually waiting for him to place a slice on her plate as well. He tries not to sigh as he grabs her plate and gets a slice of cheese pizza for her. He knows the other guys are eyeing the two of them and it's making him itch.

"Thank you," she squeezes his elbow. Louis feels Harry's gaze on them, burning holes through his skin.

"So, like when did you guys get together?" Niall asks curiously, grinning mischievously.  Zayn almost chokes on his drink, and Harry stays suspiciously quiet. Louis doesn't know if Niall is aware that Harry is mad at him. Louis' eyes are just as wide as Danielle's now, and she's blushing beet red like him but for an entirely different reason.

"We're not together," they say at the same time. Danielle blushes even harder, the apples of her usually rosy cheeks a bright red now. "I mean... We only just met... It's too soon for that, I think."

"Better move fast, Dani. Louis here's in high demand," Zayn jokes, laughing harder when Louis elbows him. The beta girl just laughs as well, but it's a little nervous. "Oh, don't I know it, Zayn. You have no idea how many people have a crush on Louis in my major alone," Danielle confesses, sending Louis a bashful look. "He's Mr. Popular over there. Especially with the omegas."

Louis could cry right there. He knows he's well-liked but this thing about him being popular with the fashion students is new news to him. Just how many omegas like him, being under the heavy impression (and lie) that he's a beta? And why does this knowledge about others liking him affect him now when it hasn't phased him in the slightest bit before?

Niall cackles at what Danielle says. Harry's still brooding silently, eating his food without a sound and focusing on his plate.

Halfway through the meal Louis decides that he shouldn't be sulking and that he should try and not let Harry affect his mood so much. Danielle is trying her very best to make him smile and the least he could do is actually pay his full attention to her, even though he isn't in the mood to do so.

Louis eats one slice of pizza, though. Only one, because he finds that he doesn't have the appetite to eat anymore. He can feel Harry giving him little glances all throughout the meal, and they aren't the nice kind. They make him uncomfortable and aware of his every move. He doesn't know if anyone else can see the tension radiating from the both of them, with Harry looking at Louis like he's royally betrayed the alpha every time Louis laughs or smiles at something Danielle says. It makes Louis' smile falter every time.

Before they all part ways, Niall invites them to a party.

"It'll be at our flat. Just a few people to celebrate the end of our hell week," Niall explains, shrugging. Harry's next to him, focusing more on his phone rather than his friends in front of him.

"Are you actually throwing a party on a Monday night, Niall?" Louis asks incredulously.

"Relax. It won't be anything wild if that's what you're thinking," Niall laughs. He turns to Zayn and Danielle. "You're invited too, Dani. Bring your friends if you want. Zaynie, bring Perrie, yeah?"

Zayn shrugs, but he's smiling as he's fairly excited. He needs a little party to unwind all the stress that has taken its toll on him. "Sure." Danielle nods eagerly. "Sure!" Then she turns to Louis. "You'll be going, right?"

Louis really doesn't want to. He feels like he's unwelcome in Harry's territory; can feel it when the alpha radiates more negative energy when Louis pats Danielle on the cheek. "'F course," Louis confirms, a sinking feeling in his stomach. The girl in front of him just looks so hopeful, and he thinks that the party would be his chance in getting to actually talk to Harry. To ask what's going on, to apologize... Just, to properly talk.

Harry finally speaks up with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Great. Guess we'll see you there." He says the word 'great' like it's the opposite of what he actually means. It's not directed to Louis, but the tone of the alpha's voice is dull. Like he's not thrilled that Louis is going at all. Louis looks at him with hurt worrying his face, but he looks away after a minute and schools his face into a stoic expression.

Louis hopes that the night will end well, because frankly he's tired of feeling like shit. Unbeknownst to him, Harry feels worse. Especially when Danielle laces Louis' fingers with hers, and even more when Louis simply lets her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! You know me, I'll be updating soon again.
> 
> How do you guys feel about the following things: heats, more stubborn!Louis, the pure Alpha in Harry actually surfacing, an omega...leaking.... During heat & sex, Kendall Jenner ( I'm not going to add any real Hendall if that's what you're thinking. Tbh, and please don't give me shit for this, but I love Kendall. I'm a Kenny fan and a Larrie. Period.), more angst, mpreg.......?????? Possible!mpreg maybe? if you have any suggestions, please comment down below.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Duolingo50daystreak. Her comment made me want to finish writing this chapter.

Louis and Zayn arrive at the party fashionably late - more than an hour after it had first started. Harry and Niall's flat is buzzing with people, lining the corridors and filling the rooms. There are even people heading up the stairs into less-crowded areas.

Usually, Louis is the life of the party. He's the one that everybody would know and would try to talk to. He's the funny and charming guy you would want to get a drink with. He's that person you would want to call over and catch up with. He's the one who would make everyone laugh and interested in anything that he has today.

But he doesn't feel like being that person today. He wears a big black shirt, a little on the sheer side, and a pair of black jeans that don't hug his curves the way that other omegas would like for them to. He says hello politely or nods to everyone that greets him or meets his eye, pushing through the crowd. Today, he's a man on a mission.

After their eventful lunch with the lads (and Danielle), Louis had gathered up the courage to send Harry a text. ' _Do you want me to be at the party?_ ' He asked, to which Harry replied an hour or two later: ' _Sure_.' That was all the text said. It wasn't the answer Louis was looking for, but nonetheless he swallowed his pride and sent another hopeful text. ' _Could we talk later?_ '

' _Ok_.' was Harry's reply.

Louis had felt utmost rejected. Harry seemed so, so disinterested in him and it drove him to the point of insecurity. Did Harry not like him anymore? Was Harry tired of him? It was all his fault, he knew that, but it still hurt that all it took was a girl that Louis obviously didn't fancy at all to make Harry go. There was his blatant avoidance too, but Louis wished Harry understood.

No matter, this is why he came to this party: to talk things through. Open up topics, ask some questions and hopefully patch things up with Harry. Louis wants for at least the alpha to stop being so... so _un_ -Harrylike to him already, and he knows he has to man up, clear things up and talk to the boy.

Louis weaves through the crowd of chattering and upbeat people, looking for those lovely long locks of curls, those piercing green eyes and those tan and tattooed arms. It's so difficult to look Harry by sniffing out his scent when there are so many people around and it just turns into one bland pile of weird but not unpleasant natural scents.

Eventually, he spots Harry. He's by the bar, sitting down on a stool. He looks good, as always, in a pair of light blue jeans, his favorite mustard suede boots and a pale yellow shirt that shouldn't be so flattering on anybody. He's not alone though. He's with a friend. A girl friend. She's so tall, probably as tall as Harry himself. She's skinny, with an unnaturally tan complexion. She looks like she could be a supermodel with her physique and perfectly symmetrical features - straight jet black hair, a heart shaped face with high cheekbones, straight brows, dark brown eyes, long curled lashes, a slim nose and baby pink lips with a slightly plump lower lip.

Louis falters slightly. It's just. They look good together- Harry and this mystery girl. He's laughing at the things she's saying, and he's got his full attention on her. Louis almost loses all of his confidence on the spot. He sighs, runs his fingers through his hair which he spent a good few minutes styling, and walks over to the bar anyway.

"Hey," Louis says as soon as Harry spots him. The girl next to him halts in whatever she's saying. She literally has to look down at Louis. Both of them do. The next thing he says is something that he's meant to only say in his brain. Apparently his brain-to-mouth filter haywires in a case of nervousness. "Aren't you too tall to be a beta?" Louis asks. When he's this close to them, he can scent them out separately... this girl smells of nothing but expensive perfume, but to Louis the way she looks just screams alpha.

"Aren't you too short to be one?" The girl backfires with a raised brow and a teasing smirk. Louis bristles. It's always his painfully obviously height that people notice first. Touché, he thinks to himself. He doesn't reply to her, and instead turns to Harry who's looking at him. The smile he had on just moments ago had completely disappeared and is replaced with a look of complete indifference. Except his eyes- there is still that glimmering look in them which makes Louis want to believe that he hasn't fucked up completely to make Harry really hate him yet.

"Can we talk?" Louis diverts his attention to Harry and asks him that question with a nervous breath, straight-to-the-point.

Harry looks over at his companion for a moment, and she shrugs and nods lazily as if to say 'sure, alright'. She lifts her drink and takes a swig of it while looking at Louis with judgmental eyes. Louis feels inferior under her piercing gaze.

"Okay?" Harry trails off but he doesn't leave his seat. Louis tries not to turn bright red with annoyance. This boy is trying to play dumb, and he's not going to have any of it.

"Alone." He says firmly.

Harry hesitates for only a second before standing up, completely towering over Louis like the true alpha that he is. Louis has to look up at him now.

"Come with me," Harry mumbles, leaving his drink and his date (?) behind. He leads Louis up the stairs slowly, a large hand placed gently on the small of Louis' back. It feels warm, and Louis tries his best not to blush. Even when Harry's mad and upset at him, he's still a gentleman to Louis in ways like this.

Harry brings them to the balcony upstairs, and upon seeing the one of the owners of the flat, the few people hanging around outside, having a smoke and sharing a drink, leave the area to give the two their obviously-needed privacy.

This is the first time they've been alone in a while.

Harry leans back on the railing casually; the railing isn't too short enough for him to fall two storeys high and die, but Louis still stops breathing for a second when Harry does it. The silence that falls between the two of them is suffocating, but the loud party inside of the flat continues.

"So." Harry says eventually. That's all he says.

Louis gnaws on his bottom lip as he thinks of something to say. What should he say? What should he ask? Where does he begin?

"I just want to apologize, I guess," Louis begins, and it's the lamest thing he could ever say in this awkward and tense situation.

"You guess?" Harry repeats, slowly raising a brow.

"I mean. I want to apologize for making excuses so we couldn't meet... And then freely hanging out with someone when I told you I was too busy to talk or hang out with you." The words come in an embarrassed rush, and Louis' cheeks get a lovely tint of pink as they say them. He feels even tinier than he actually is, standing there in front of Harry, the alpha having a stoic face as he stares at Louis bumble and make a fool out of himself. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

Harry laughs then. He laughs. It's serious and contains zero humor. "So that's it. You're just sorry because I'm mad at you." He deadpans, a frown marring his handsome face.

Louis is quick to defend himself, the hurt showing on his face. "That's not true!"

"Louis." Harry says. His voice is dangerously low and his eyes are darker than usual. Louis is almost afraid of him. "You fucking avoided me like the plague. And then when I cau- when I saw you with that girl, you know it got me upset. You know I like you, don't you?" It's the first time Harry openly admits how he feels about Louis, and it stuns the omega even if he already knows about the alpha's feelings deep inside. "I've liked you since day one."

Louis' heart sings, but now isn't the right time to smile. He isn't even sure if he should be happy that Harry actually admitted it. It makes things realer and he begins to dread what the future for them holds. Can he pretend he never heard Harry admit his feelings?

"I... Wh... I didn't know." Louis lies and shakes his head.

"Please don't play dumb. Not with me." Harry sighs frustratedly. He runs his hand through his hair until it's slightly frazzled. Louis stays rooted in place. "I tried to give you space after what happened with us in the kitchen. I tried to apologize again and again, and I kept hoping we could talk soon, but you kept avoiding me. You kept lying to me." he accuses in a hurt voice, looking straight into Louis' stormy blue eyes. "And then I found out you have a Danielle in your life. I guess that was one of the reasons you decided to distance yourself from me. If you just told me, I would've understood. Could've taken the hint. You didn't have to keep on lying to me and making me hope we could be friends again. Maybe more."

Louis doesn't know what to do. He isn't prepared for this kind of confrontation. He never thought that Harry would actually do something other than say "it's alright" and make up with Louis. He doesn't know what to do, so instead he has another reaction. His blood begins to boil and he snaps instead of explaining himself, feeling the sadness being drained from him and it being replaced with sheer anger. "How about you stop lying to me too, huh?!" He shouts. "You talk about me being a bloody liar but you're one as well!"

"What the fuck are you on about?" Harry breathes out.

"You act like you're this- this complete gentleman, everybody's dream alpha. Nice Guy Harry, the perfect man. But you're a bloody liar as well, and you probably use what you know to take advantage of me," Louis hisses, glaring at Harry now. ' _You know that I'm an omega_ ', is what he wants to say but can't. ' _And you want me because of that single fact. You know and you keep pretending you don't._ '

" _I'm_ the liar? I'm trying to take _advantage_ of you?" Harry repeats, eyes narrowing. He's a whole other level of mad now. "What the fuck?"

"Just say it, you fucking ass. You know what I'm talking about." Louis scoffs.

Louis' heart is beating so fast he thinks that it might pop out of his chest. His ears are ringing. He feels lightheaded. The world seems to be collapsing all around him, but both Harry and him stand still. The alpha stares at him, unnerving, for a few moments. Louis can't breathe, can't say anything.

Harry closes his eyes and breathes deeply. "I _don't_ ," he says. When he opens his eyes again, dark green bores into blue. "Until you're not ready to say it yourself, I don't know what you're talking about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this very late update. I've been playing Tour Guide for my American cousins who are visiting. I'm leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow so I thought I'd leave you guys with something. Hope you liked it.
> 
> Also, I understand some of you are getting impatient, but you guys are going to hate it if I "speed things up" and get to the part where Louis is finally happy about being omega (if that). /: If you think about the timeline, they've only known each other for a few months and if I get to the "good part" asap then this would just be another common abo fic
> 
> AND CONGRATS to Niall for having a girlfriend wow. (Almost) Everyone is happy, I see. I just wish people were as supportive whenever another 1d boy gets a girlfriend/hookup (w/e). Everyone is happy because Celine is 'normal' (I saw that explanation several times on twitter). Why does it matter if they're 'normal' or famous? Is it because we "know" about famous people more and therefore can assess if they're a good match? Na. I feel like it's okay if we don't "feel" a 1d girlfriend but a lot of people end up being very rude and disrespectful especially on twitter, insulting the girls (ugly untalented etc) and I don't find it funny.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit into Harry's POV.
> 
>  **Warning** : this chapter contains a bit of unwanted sexual advances, so if you are triggered by that, verbal/physical harrassment, please read with caution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Thank you Sunnycadams for leaving such a nice comment in chapter 15. (: this is for you!

Louis runs away.

Louis runs away and Harry doesn't chase after him, because that might just end up in a disaster and the omega looks so pale, like the color from his face has been completely drained. So Harry lets him go without another word and he's left alone in the balcony to sigh and wallow at a lost chance to make amends.

The thing is, Harry knows that Louis is an omega. He is well aware of that fact.

He's had a gut feeling about Louis when they first met, but it was when Harry met Kendall Jenner that things became clear and confirmed to him. Kendall's a girl he met in one of his minor subject classes, and they were seat mates. Kendall introduced herself and the first question that came tumbling out of Harry's lips, rather impolitely if you thought about it, was _"Are you an alpha, or...?"_ Because Kendall didn't smell like an alpha, but she definitely carried herself as one; Harry would know since he was an alpha himself. Kendall smiled wryly, leaned into him, and whispered, "Yes. But don't tell the omegas that."

They immediately became friends. Harry was rather confused yet fascinated as to why this girl would try to hide her true self, but Kendall simply explained that she didn't want any attention at the moment, especially from omegas which were abundant in her classes (she's a Fashion Arts student). On her first day she walked in as an alpha and came home to a handful of phone numbers slipped inside of her pockets and notes. She came to class the next day with her scent neutralized and lied to everyone that she had an alpha boyfriend who scent-marked her on the first day of class. The lie obviously worked for most people, but those who firmly believed she was really an alpha took the hint that she wasn't interested in dating or making her alpha status known at the moment.

Another reason why Harry pieced together that Louis is truly an omega is that he saw a few empty scent-neutralizing sprays scattered all over Louis and Zayn's shared flat during the times he came over, which he had asked Zayn about. The beta had looked him in the eye, smiled wryly and shrugged. "I'm actually an alpha," he had joked, but Harry had been sure that Zayn had known he wasn't convinced.

The alpha could never wrap his head as to why someone would go to such great lengths to conceal their status. Why did Louis hide the fact that he's an omega to the point where he's got almost everyone in campus convinced that he's just a very tiny, very cute beta with delicate and dainty wrists and a plump arse that's pretty obvious no matter what he wears? Of course, Harry never bothered to ask Zayn and he never told Louis about what he knew because he wanted the omega to speak up on his own will. If Louis actually trusted Harry, he would tell the alpha his reasons (not that Louis was expected to do that, nor did Harry have a right to any explanations whatsoever).

Truth be told, Harry was attracted to Louis the moment the boy sassed him in their Contemporary Literature class. What the kind-hearted alpha said about not caring if someone was a beta or an omega was true as he had dated both statuses in the past, so he couldn't understand why Louis never told him the truth about him being an omega when Harry was convinced that they were basically close friends. At least, Harry liked to believe that they were.

With a heavy heart that comes with the realization that Louis slipped from his fingers again, and that the boy would probably go back to avoiding him, Harry goes back to the buzzing party downstairs.

He comes back to see Kendall mingling with Cara Delevingne (a Psychology major, a beta), Ed Sheeran (a Music major, a beta) and Xander Ritz (a Chemistry major, an alpha). They probably notice the look on his face or how he's in a sulky mood because Cara immediately coos, Kendall hands him a drink and Ed looks at him sympathetically. "Boy problems?" Xander raises a brow.

"I just." Harry sighs frustratingly as he took the drink from the alpha lady. "I don't think I've ever wanted someone as much as I want him."

"Awww," Kendall grins widely. "Too bad he isn't interested."

"Shut up. I think it's romantic." Ed laughs.

"It's not funny, mates," Harry grimaces after drinking half of his beer in one go. "It... It feels different when I'm around him. Does he feel it too?" He wonders, staring down at his cup as he gnaws on his lip and furrows his brows. God, _fuck_ , he is fucking _pathetic_. The most pathetic, lovesick alpha in the universe.

Nobody else in the group except for Kendall knows that Louis is an omega (as Kendall is the person Harry would seek advice from when it comes to the omega-in-hiding, and he had sworn the girl into secrecy) so at the moment he can't talk about how Louis doesn't even smell like an omega yet Harry's still so infatuated with him that it's honestly insane.

"Do you hear yourself right now mate? You're like a living Ed Sheeran song," Cara cackles and claps him on the back. Ed, the genius musician that he is, grins.

It's like Harry doesn't hear Cara when he takes another gulp of his drink and sighs. "He always runs away or avoids me. I hate it."

"Your own, personal Cinderella." Kendall notes lightly, laughing along with the rest at how lovesick Harry is.

"If this boy is Cinderella then you must be Prince Charming," Xavier says.

"You got the dimples and the charms. All you need is the princess, now," Ed encourages the alpha. "And what did Prince Charming do, pray tell, Harry, when Cinderella ran away?"

Harry stares at him with an eyebrow raised.

"He goes after her, mate. He goes after her." Cara rolls her eyes. "So you... You should go after him."

And that is where Harry deflates once more. "I can't do that. Not right now. He needs space and time from what I said to him earlier, and I don't ever want to pressure him when he obviously doesn't want anything to do with me yet."

Kendall rolls her eyes so hard that Harry thinks they'll fall out of their sockets, and then she hisses at him. "You fucking alpha, I swear-" but she doesn't get to continue her sentence when a crash and a squeak are heard and then there's a commotion.

"What's going on?" Harry asks, straightening up. This is his home and he will not tolerate any violence of any kind.

He rushes to where the people are crowding, and spots a very familiar omega being cornered by a bulky alpha that Harry doesn't even know of. He's whispering something in his ear to the point where his lips are touching the shell of the omega's ear, and the omega is cowering and pressing himself up against the wall, his hand wet and shaking probably from the bottle he just dropped.

Harry's blood instantly boils. He balls his hands into steel fists and stalks up to the pair which nobody dares to go near to, and pulls the alpha away from a completely frightened Louis who is close to tears and is pale and shaking like a ghost. "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing, mate?"

"Saw this sweet arse over here and I was just wanting to have a good time, is all," the disgusting alpha answers rather coolly, pulling his grip away from Harry like he doesn't know who he is. Who even invited this jerk? Harry practically loses it when the piece of shit objectifies Louis as a mere 'sweet arse' and he punches the man.

Harry takes one, solid look at the disgusting beefcake and he aims a strong punch to the guy's jaw, sending him stumbling down onto the clean carpet and giving him a bloody mouth. Harry coaxes a completely traumatized Louis out from the corner he's cowering in and wraps a protective arm over his shaking form.

"Don't you ever think of laying a disgusting hand on him or any other person in this room again, you sick fuck," Harry spats, eyes dark and brooding. Next to him, Louis continues to shake. "Leave. Now."

The ill-mannered alpha who Harry punched glares up at him, but slowly gets up to leave. "Fucking bastard," the man mumbles, but Harry simply glares back as he watches him leave.

The crowd cheers for Harry and boos at the unknown man, and when Harry turns to Louis they all take it as their cue to go back to their own businesses.

"Lou, what happened there?" Harry asks, genuine concern replacing the anger that was painting his face just a few moments ago. He can't help but put a comforting hand on Louis' shoulder and brush the boy's fringe away from those blue eyes that he loves so much. "Are you okay? Talk to me, _please_?"

Louis looks up at him, crystal blue eyes all wide and afraid. The smaller boy wraps his arms around himself, as if he were trying to protect himself from anyone and anything else, and then he breaks down into a heartbreaking cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, no ~real~ Hendall. I hope you liked this one. I'm sorry if there were any triggering parts.  
> I'm also so sorry for the long wait, if you were waiting. I was in Hong Kong and it drained the life out of me. I got lost during my first day after going to Victoria's Peak and I almost cried at the train station since I never thought we would make it home to our hotel lol. We went to Disney Land and I fell in love. I also got 1000 HKD worth of Gelatoni merch. (Am I 20 or 12?)
> 
> I'M SO SORRY FOR THE ENGLISH IN THIS CHAPTER IDK I'M SORRY FOR A LOT OF THINGS


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and his mixed feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait. I hope this makes up for it and please make sure to read the note at the end. x

Louis rushes out of the apartment seconds after his breakdown, all red-eyed and crying as a worried Zayn stumbles after him. Harry tries to follow the two, of course, but the moment he has a soft grip on Louis' shoulder the omega is shaking his hand off and turning to face him.

"I'd really like it if you'd leave me alone first," Louis says stiffly, his baby blues glassy and his cheeks stained with tears that are still falling. In the darkness of the night his face is only illuminated by the street lights, but he's still so, so beautiful to Harry. Zayn wraps a comforting arm around Louis' waist and Harry tracks the movement with his eyes, jealousy bubbling inside him at the fact that someone gets to comfort this wonderful boy and it isn't him. He's glad that Louis has Zayn though.

Wordlessly, Harry nods. He completely understands if Louis needs his space from him or any other alpha after that incident. The boy isn't even wearing anything provocative or eye-catching yet his own self was enough to draw the attention of many, including the beefy alpha who dared to put his hands on Louis.

"Text me when you get home safely, please," Harry pleads softly to Zayn and the beta sends him a small, thankful smile before he's steering a sniffling Louis to the direction of their home.

* * *

Louis stares in the mirror sadly. He's still in his clothes from the party. The black shirt isn't that sheer enough to accentuate the curves of his body although it does hint a bit of his tattoos. The pants he's wearing are comfortably loose, and when he turns around he sees that they don't even hug his arse in a nice way. He growls at his reflection: at his delicate features that he doesn't want, doesn't like how they attract too many people when all he wants is to lay low and live his life.

He flops down onto his small bed face down before he teaches for a pillow and squishes the side of his face against it, staring at nothing as he thinks of how disastrous this day went. He was groped by an alpha - a very, very scary one- and he's now 99.99% sure that Harry knows he's an omega. Fuck. What will he do with this new piece of information, anyway? When he called Harry out for being a liar he wasn't even thinking clearly; he didn't even realize he was rambling about how Harry probably knew until it was too late. He let his anger take over now he was sure that Harry did in fact know... _Fuuuuck_. 

Zayn opens the door to his room carrying a glass of water and some medicine for him to take; he knows that Louis gets headaches after particularly exhausting crying sessions. "Boo?" The beta mumbles, using that godawful nickname Louis' mum has for him. "You should really get dressed before you head to bed, yeah? And take this, please." He hands Louis the tablet and Louis lays his palm out.

"I'm dead. I don't want to go to school anymore. I fucking hate being omega. Fuck me ass, fuck me fucking fuck-" he moans miserably as he sits up. Zayn watches him in half-amusement, half-worry as the boy takes his medicine while snuffling sadly about how alphas ruin everything for him, how he wishes he were born a beta, how "I wish me bum wasn't so fucking big. _Fuck_. Of course someone would notice it. I fucking hate it."

"You shouldn't hate your bum, Lou. It's a really nice bum." Zayn hides his little snigger into his palm. Louis sets the empty glass of water on his bedside table and flops back down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Zayn sits down on the edge of the bed and waits for Louis to say something.

"Harry knows." Louis murmurs.

"He's observant." Zayn nods.

"Harry knows. He really knows that I'm an omega," Louis clarifies, frustrated. His voice is raspy from crying. "How long has he known for, Zee?"

Zayn shrugs helplessly. "You should ask him."

"I'm never going to speak to him again."

"He likes you, Louis. _A lot._ You should give him a chance." Maybe it's too straightforward of Zayn to say that, but he knows that Harry would be good for Louis if the omega were to just accept it. Everyone could see they've got this chemistry going on and that Harry's already over the moon for little Louis.

"I'm not giving anyone a chance, Zayn."

"You're giving Danielle a chance. Technically, you're leading her on."

"She's my _friend_." Louis clarifies with a groan.

"And Harry can't be your friend?"

 _No_ , Louis wants to say. _No he can't be my friend. He can't be my friend because that won't do any good for the both of us._ "I don't like him. I don't want him to be my friend." He was ready for them to be friends - maybe even the best of friends- if only their little talk didn't take a turn for the worst when they argued. "You saw how that one alpha looked at me. It was like I was a piece of meat. I don't want to be treated like that, ever."

"Louis. Harry stood up for you, remember? He's not a shit alpha. I thought we already established that. He respects you and even I can see that. When did he ever treat you like an object? Never. He really likes you-"

Louis' cheeks redden at Zayn's words, but he doesn't say anything.

"I'm not going to push you, Lou, because I know how you are. But I just want you to know that I think Harry could be really good for you if you'd just let him in. I know that deep inside, you know he isn't like the rest. I don't want you to regret not giving him a chance." Zayn leans down and presses a short kiss on the top of Louis' feathery hair. "Get some rest, yeah? We've got class tomorrow."

_He really likes you._

_He isn't like the rest._

_I don't want you to regret not giving him a chance._

It takes Louis hours before he falls asleep.

Louis skips his first class of the day because he knows Mr. Schumer is just going to return their tests and he's sure that he got a decent grade. His absence doesn't go unnoticed by Harry who's his classmate in the subject, and he gets a text from the alpha thirty minutes into the class.

**From: Harry Styles**

_Are you alright? You didn't come to class and I'm worried._

Louis doesn't know why he replies, but he does.

**To: Harry Styles**

_Yes im OK . Thanks 4 worrying ._

**From: Harry Styles**

_I'll always worry about you, Lou._

It angers Louis how his heart flutters at every sliver of care that Harry shows for him. He doesn't need feelings like these, especially from an alpha. He turns his phone off for the rest of the day in fear that he'll keep on reading their message thread (because he's done it before, and he doesn't want to do it again).

Louis shows up for only the most important class that day, Architectural Graphics III, and thankfully he doesn't have it with Harry. He takes the class with Zayn and today they're making 3D models of famous buildings. It's a four hour long workshop class and even though it's very draining, it helps Louis keep his mind off of things.

He's just finished the skeleton of his model of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban when the bell rings, and he cracks his first smile today when he sees how nice his work turned out. Next to him, Zayn's completed his skeleton of the Burj Khalifa.

Zayn grins at him as they shut their respective Macs off and they head out of the computer lab with the intention of having dinner.

Unfortunately, it seems that the universe hates Louis because as soon as he walks into the restaurant of their choice, just a block outside the campus, he spots Harry. He's sitting on a table in the corner and he's got his back turned to Louis. He's wearing a stupid black bomber jacket with birds embroidered all over them and fuck, it should be ridiculous but it really isn't. Harry's with the beautiful beta from the party - miss long legs and model features, and she's got a perfectly manicured hand rested on his shoulder, far too close to his neck. They're too close for it to be friendly and from what Louis could see, she's staring at him intently as he talks in a hushed voice as if they were sharing secrets.

He swiftly spins away from them as his heart pangs with something akin to hurt. They look so good together. It doesn't matter if Harry already said that he likes Louis because Harry and this girl he's with are definitely a better match. And again, Louis doesn't want any alphas. _He doesn't, he doesn't, he doesn't,_ he tries to convince himself as he stares at the menu very hard.

Fifteen minutes later and he's still staring blankly at the menu, Zayn too busy on his phone to actually order already, and that's when he catches scent of Harry being close to him.

He looks up and sure enough the alpha is there, with the beautiful girl lingering next to him. They both smile kindly at Louis and Zayn, but they don't say anything as they exit the restaurant together.

Louis gets a text a few moments later.

**From: Harry Styles**  
_Whenever you're ready, Lou._

He suddenly remembers what Harry said to him at the party.

_"Until you're not ready to say it yourself, I don't know what you're talking about."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to explain that I've been in a writing slump. This pairing is stressing me tf out. I've been a bit depressed these days over things, but now I'm back. I finally know what to do with this story and I am VERY excited to give you all the next chapters.
> 
> Hint: Louis is slowly getting ready.
> 
> I hope you guys stick around, it'll still be cute. There will be very positive progress with Larry's relationship and the way Lou is. Your boy will finally open up bit by bit. I'm really, really excited.
> 
> Also, if you like hybrid!Larry, [check out this oneshot that I wrote.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5169266)It's from my old account but I just wanted to share it with you guys! x


	18. Not an update.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance. I'll delete this later.

Skip this one. x


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A question and an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank everyone who stuck with me through my heartbreak. This one's for you.

Louis comes to school with a slight headache. He had stayed up all night trying to get work done on some of his term-long assignments for some sort of distraction, but by the time he decided to try and sleep his mind was plagued by all sorts of thoughts.

One particular thought had been glued to his mind, and as much as he tried to deny it, his tiny heart no longer could. He's infatuated with Harry Styles. Despite what the rational (irrational? Who knows now) part of his mind says, he can no longer reject the fact that he feels something whenever he's with Harry. Heck, he can even feel whatever it is that he's feeling for the boy whenever he so much as thinks about the alpha. Time and time again he keeps thinking of Harry as someone too good to be true, but it's been months and all he was getting from the alpha is sincerity.

Despite admitting to himself that he has feelings for Harry, Louis isn't ready to come out as an omega just for one boy. He's been hiding all of his life and he isn't just going to go _"Hello world! I just want to say that I've been lying to everyone and I'm actually an omega!"_ , no. He's got plenty of reasons for stay in hiding and he isn't throwing all of his past decisions away just for Harry.

So Wednesday morning starts off interestingly.

Harry slides into his seat next to Louis, takes one look at the frail, tired looking 'beta' boy and turns to face him. "Good morning, Lou. Sleepy?" He asks carefully, wanting to see if Louis will ignore him or worse: run away. Instead, Louis looks at Harry with wide eyes and shifts his gaze down on the desk. He fumbles with the cuff of his too-long sweater and shrugs. Harry's eyes never seem to be leaving him and he can feel his cheeks begin to heat up. The alpha looks good today, in another one of his ridiculous silk shirts, but what makes Louis more attracted to him is the fact that he always asks about Louis and his well-being first. It's... sweet. Louis hates himself for getting all flustered. Hates himself even more for having the big revelation (aka, realizing that he has a crush on an alpha) last night.

"I'm good." Louis mumbles with a shrug, gaze never leaving his hands. God, this is so unlikely of him. Since when was he reduced to a pile of mush? He's better than this! "Sleepy, yeah. But good. Thanks for asking."

"Well. You still look nice today." Harry says sincerely, voice coming out like pure honey. Thankfully the professor for their class chooses in that moment to stride into the classroom and it gives Louis the opportunity to duck his head and hide his worsening blush.

The time during class flies by agonizingly slow. Louis can't stop himself from fumbling and squirming in his seat as he's plagued by his thoughts and the fact that Harry's right there, watching him every now and then, and honestly he wants to jump off the window. He hates being like this. It's just not like him. When class finally, finally ends Louis is dying to be as far away as Harry as possible and he's quick to pack his things and hightail out of the door. Sadly, Harry is quicker.

"Louis," Harry says, voice firm and almost commanding as he lightly grips the omega's elbow. That's all it takes for Louis to stop in his tracks and spin around. He blinks up- up at Harry with his baby blues and huffs. "Yes?" He asks rather bashfully, praying to god that Harry doesn't realize what's wrong with him or realize that he's as red as a firetruck. (Harry probably does realize these things. Louis knows he is obvious as fuck right now.)

"I'd like to speak with you in private, please," Harry pleads softly.

Louis furrows his brows. "Uh. I've got class in five minutes."

"Lou, we share the same schedule today. You don't have class until an hour," the alpha points out, looking quite defeated now. Louis' posture slumps. Should he make another pitiful excuse or just agree and go have a chat with Harry? For some bewildering reason he chooses the latter option with a shuddery sigh. "Okay. Fine. Lead the way," he shrugs.

Louis is rewarded with a dimpled grin and that's enough to make him think he's made the right choice. He jumps a little when Harry leads him out of the classroom and out of the building, in a secluded little spot. Louis leans against the walls and hugs himself as he waits for Harry to say something.

"I like you."

Louis' jaw drops to the floor. He fish-mouths at Harry, probably looking like a fish. But then he gulps and tries to hold his head up high. "I think you've already said that at the party."

Harry looks at him exasperatedly, shaking his head. "I mean. I know it's not going to lead anywhere. At least not now," Louis' breath catches at that. "But I just want to clarify that I like you and I would never ever force you to do something that you don't want to do."

"Okay...?" Louis murmurs, unsure where this is going.

"I also respect your decisions regarding your life," Harry begins. He's not talking about Louis being in hiding as an omega. Louis knows Harry's not going to mention anything until Louis says he's ready. Which is. Good. "I've just. I've been wanting to ask this for a while and you can say no. In fact, I'm expecting you to say no. I just wanted to ask anyway." Harry looks nervous now, and way smaller than he actually is with the way he has his hands behind his back and his feet pigeon-toed.

Louis' heart is beating really, really fast now. "Go on..." He clears his throat and sniffles.

"Is it okay if I-" Harry begins shyly. He furrows his brows as if he's realizing that he's doing it wrong and stands up straighter, a sudden wave of confidence pouring out of his body. "I want to court you. Will you let me?"

 _Court_.

As in.

Woo. Pursue. _Romance_.

Louis should say no. He should definitely, definitely say no. It's a bad idea to say yes. There is not a single reason he should say yes.

"Okay," Louis blurts out instead. He only realizes the implications of his approval a second late and he's about to take it back when he sees just how happy he's made Harry. Harry's already stepping closer to him and Louis just stands there frozen as the alpha smiles down softly at him.

"You're not going to regret this, Lou," he mumbles as he leans down to envelop the omega into a warm hug. Louis practically melts into his arms. "I'm going to make you happy." Harry whispers into his ears, and that's enough to clear Louis' mind for just a moment.

"You better." Is the only thing Louis replies as he faintly smiles into Harry's shoulder.

He's just going to have to regret his answer some other time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I'm so thankful for each and everyone of you who didn't abandon this story despite my emotional little ramble the other day. I'm still not okay. I'm far from that. But I'm trying my best to be happy. She's left a giant, gaping hole in my heart and I've got no idea what to do, but I'm still alive and that's what matters isn't it? I'm so thankful for everyone who reached back out to me. I honestly just took my chance there. I didn't expect people to actually respond and you've guys helped me. I haven't taken the message down yet because I still want to reply to you guys, but at the moment I can't without tearing up, ha. 
> 
> Anyway, if you guys have Tumblr, I'd appreciate it if you followed me. I'll follow back of course. I could use some friends on there, seeing as I've just created it to get some of what I'm feeling off of my chest. My url is [holdmethisway](http://holdmethisway.tumblr.com) and I hope we can be friends.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to all the kind souls who took the time to write to me when I needed someone. You guys made me strong.

"You said yes, right? Louis. Tell me you said yes."

"You make it sound like he asked for me to marry him or something," Louis says in a rather timid manner as he tries to sink further in his seat, almost as if he would like to become one with the leather couch.

Zayn's light brown eyes are twinkling and Louis is almost afraid. He's looking at Louis like he's the omega's proud dad at the moment. "Just answer the question. You like Harry. I know you do. Please, _please_ , tell me you didn't pass on this chance to be with someone great." He scoots closer to Louis and Louis only curls up into himself.

After a small staring contest, Louis groans and nods pitifully. He fakes a sob. "I don't know why I agreed that he could court me, honestly. I should have said no. I should take it back-" he says with a dramatic flair only Louis William Tomlinson could possibly possess, but Zayn cuts him off with an even louder groan and a ' _come on, Lewis_ '!

"You said yes because he's honest about his feelings for you, he's probably the kindest alpha in the whole school, you two fit together and you simply like him," the beta enumerates the simplest reasons with a shrug. The smile is still wide on his face. It turns soft. "Don't take it back, Lou. You probably made him really happy just by agreeing to let him court you. I'm sure you're not making a mistake with this. Just... Just let it happen, why don't you?"

"I don't want to-" Louis gulps, and mumbles something, then "omega".

"You don't want to be an omega?" Zayn asks.

"I don't know how." Louis admits. "And I certainly don't want anyone to know of it. Of my real status. It's all too soon, don't you think? A large part of me's still reluctant about all of this. My father-" he cuts himself off with a shake of the head. "No. Never mind. I won't think about it yet."

"No one has to know about your real status if you're not comfortable with it. Just you, me, and Harry. And maybe Niall." Zayn says simply. "I don't think he's going to force you out just because he wants to date you, Lou. He liked you even before he realized you were an O, right?" Louis gives a little shrug, then a nod.

"Apparently so..."

"Then you can just be a very small beta being courted by an alpha. Tell him about that." Zayn concludes. "Don't shut Harry out so quickly. I don't know how things will go, but no one will know until you try, right?"

"I guess."

Zayn pets Louis' feathery soft hair affectionately. "You're an amazing lad, Lou- beta or omega. I know you don't need someone to make you happy, especially not an alpha, but we can both agree that Harry makes you feel things, doesn't he?"

"Things." Louis actually laughs, but there's a faint dusting of pink that appears on his cheeks. He tries to contain the fond look on his face when he remembers how Harry asked him politely earlier today, and how warm his hug felt. "Yeah."

Zayn lightly punches Louis' arm. "That's the spirit."

* * *

When Louis exits his flat so he could walk to school the very next morning, he's surprised to see Harry there, a thermos in one hand and a tube (most likely containing some of his blueprints or rough drafts) in the other.

"We don't have the same class this period?" Louis blurts out in lieu of a proper 'good morning'. He's surprised, is all, and was definitely not expecting this. Harry looks fresh, soft and simply handsome in his polka-dotted baby blue button-down and white jeans.

"Oh, good morning. And I know, but I was making tea this breakfast and thought you might like some," Harry says, dimpling, as if it were perfectly normal to show up on Louis' doorstep simply because he thought Louis would like tea.

Actually...

"We're out of my favorite," Louis admits softly as he walks down the porch and stands right in front of the tall alpha. Like this, Louis once again realizes how small he is next to Harry. He's pretty sure if he were to press himself against the boy his lips would touch way below Harry's collarbone - perhaps the middle of the alpha's sternum instead - and Harry would still have to bend his knees to be able to put his chin on top of Louis' head.

Fuck. Not something he should think of if he doesn't want his heart-rate to accelerate. (Too late. It's been going fast since the moment his blue eyes saw green).

Harry holds out the thermos for Louis to take, and his dimple grows deeper when Louis takes it with a kind little 'fanks' in that cute accent of his. Okay, Harry is slightly (read: _very_ ) biased maybe, but he thinks that all of Louis is cute. Louis is just so cute, cute, cute. Fucking adorable, in his too-big clothes and bedhead that he doesn't even manage to fix. Even the amount of heavy ink on his arms doesn't take away his softness or delicateness.

They wordlessly begin to walk towards the direction of the campus which isn't very far from where they both live. The London streets are already busy despite the early morning, but there's no real rush to it yet. It's a very pleasant hour with the day bright despite the sun hiding in the clouds. Louis tilts his head up at the sky and scrunches his face happily as he opens the thermos. He's immediately hit with the faint scent of freshly brewed hot tea. Next to him, Harry's trying his hardest not to give all his attention to Louis in fear of running straight into a mailbox or a post.

Louis pours some of the tea into the lid which acts as a cup, blows on the liquid a little, and then takes a small sip. He perks up at the taste: milky, and definitely without sugar. Just the way he likes it.

"I like it, thank you. Might keep you around so you can make me tea all the time," Louis says in a mumble around the rim of the cup, but he's smiling as he looks straight ahead to watch where he's going.

Harry scrunches his own face to contain the fond look blooming there, but he breaks in a second and lets himself grin so, so wide. "I'm hoping for that."

* * *

Harry walks Louis to his class, and Louis turns to face him when they get by the door. They're a couple of minutes early. Naturally, he has to tilt his chin up so he could actually meet Harry's eyes. "Can we talk later?" he asks.

Harry's face falls, as if he's concluded that Louis has changed his mind about his courtship. The alpha's opening his mouth to launch into a passionate speech about how why Louis should give him a chance - to give them a chance - when Louis smiles kindly and shakes his head, suddenly having the courage to reach out and take a hold of Harry's hand. He brushes his thumb against Harry's cross tattooed on the back of his hand and immediately lets go with a blush. Nevertheless, the action calmed Harry down immediately.

"We've got to talk about this whole... thing." Louis says lamely, gesturing to the both of them. He's suddenly back to being his awkward self. Oh well, the unexpected calmness in his system that was there while they were walking was nice while it lasted. (Maybe it was because he was half-asleep, and now he's fully awake and aware of all the eyes staring at them and looking their way?) Louis ducks his chin and murmurs, just enough for Harry to hear, "and how I'm - you know - a beta." Here.

Harry nods at that. "Of course, Lou," he says earnestly. "How about we have dinner later and we could talk about it, hm?" He suggests, and when Louis nods, Harry smiles excitedly. "I'll pick you up at your flat at seven, then. Guess I've got a date with the most gorgeous beta on campus later." He winks when he says the word 'beta' but his voice was low enough that Louis is reassured that no one heard what he just said. Harry steps forward and leans in, as if he's going to kiss Louis, but then he halts as if he realizes that they aren't actually together yet.

Harry gives Louis a hug instead, and presses a short kiss to the top of Louis' messy, sleep-rumpled hair instead. Then he turns to leave.

Around them, people begin to fuss at what they just saw, but Louis can't think of anything but how both confidently sweet and cheeky Harry is, or how he likes the way Harry acts around him (the right mix of caring and playful), or how nice that kiss on his head felt, or how Harry said he's taking him on a date---

 _Fuck_ , they have a date later.

He's suddenly got a date with an alpha later and he has no idea what to do.

Louis accidentally lets out a little whimper and apparently Harry's not far enough yet because the alpha looks back and sends Louis yet another flirty wink. "Later, babe," he mouths, a smirk on his face, and Louis' cheeks grow hot, hot, hot as he bustles into his classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the longest chapter I've had so far. I hope you liked it, and I hope that it was worth the wait! x I've been busy, so I'm really sorry about that. I missed you all and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I always write on my phone so pardon me for any mistakes in there. Please do send me suggestions on what you'd like to see in this story. Promise I haven't forgotten about anything yet, not even D. Haha.
> 
> I'd like to write a larry oneshot to improve my skills. Please, send me prompts? (:
> 
> Also, please follow me on Twitter: **[@belovedlwt](http://twitter.com/belovedlwt)** and let's be friends! We can talk about larry, makeup, etcetc.
> 
> Have a lovely day x

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope this isn't too bad.  
> Comments and Kudos are very much appreciated as feedback! x


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